


Divided Loyalties

by tacomuerte



Series: Nature under Constraint and Vexed [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Feels, Angst, Autistic Character, Because I think it qualifies!, Drama, F/F, Femslash February, Occasional Sin, Romance, chlobug, chlonette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 14:51:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 36,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9389849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacomuerte/pseuds/tacomuerte
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s life used to be straightforward.She went to school. She worked at her parents’ bakery on the weekends. She hung out with her friends. She dreamed of one day marrying her crush, Adrien Agreste. She avoided her arch-nemesis, Chloé Bourgeois, as often as she could.Oh and in her spare time, she saved Paris as the costumed hero, Ladybug, beside her partner, Chat Noir.Lately, her life has been anything but straightforward. Who knew starting a serious relationship with your former arch-nemesis would be complicated? Now she’s navigating the confusing waters of love with her girlfriend all while fighting powered-up akumas and dealing with her masked alter ego receiving declarations of undying love from Chat Noir and her former crush, Adrien.At least she has Chloé helping by playing matchmaker for both boys. Because that can’t go wrong.On top of that, she and Chloé are still figuring out the psychic bond they share, which would be easier if it didn’t keep kicking her right in the libido.At least her life can't get any more complicated... can it?





	1. That Last Thing

**Author's Note:**

> This story will make absolutely zero sense unless you have read the first entry in the series, [Best Frenemies](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7108762/chapters/16149400)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And I said, “That last thing is what you can’t get, Carlo. Nobody can get to that last thing. We keep on living in hopes of catching it once and for all.”
> 
> \- _Jack Kerouac, On the Road_ (1957)
> 
> Song Choice: “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers

Adrien made sure to maintain his smile until Chloé’s car was out of sight. He wasn’t going to be the one responsible for derailing Chloé Bourgeois’ chance at creating a happier, better life for herself. He owed her too much for that.

Deciding he had stood there for long enough, brooding in the rapidly cooling Autumn air, Adrien turned to go inside. His dinner had been placed on the dining table for him. He appreciated the efforts the staff went to for him even though he had no appetite today, so he picked at the food he didn’t really want to eat. It was no use, though. He couldn’t force himself to eat anything.

Standing, Adrien smiled politely at the maid and instructed her that she and the rest of the staff were dismissed for the evening. She made some small protest that he waved off, saying she should enjoy the night. 

After she left, Adrien went to the portrait room. He sat looking at his mother’s portrait for a long while.

She would be disappointed with him. He was sure of it.

In his heart, Adrien knew he hadn’t been a good friend to Chloé. He might argue that she wasn’t an easy person to remain friends with, and she would probably be the first one to agree… at least in private. That was only an excuse, though, and Adrien wasn’t in the mood to allow himself excuses.

Before she left, Adrien’s maman had asked that he look after Chloé. In fact, it was the last thing she had said to him before she boarded the plane that would disappear mid-flight and never be seen again. 

Adrien knew that some adults would disapprove of giving a child that kind of responsibility, but he understood it as an extension of the close bond between his maman and Madame Bourgeois. Even in his earliest memories, the two women were most often together, laughing and happy, as he and Chloe played. So he’d come to think of caring for her as the most natural thing in the world.

He stood and approached the portrait.

“I’m sorry, Maman,” he said, quietly. “Chloé makes things difficult, but I know you would say that just proves how much she needs me. I just… needed a break.

“With all of Father’s demands and restrictions, it was just easier to be Chat Noir. The Miraculous gave me a chance to… escape. I had to escape, Maman. And I’ve never admitted this out loud, but I wish I could be Chat Noir all the time.

“And I know I left Chloé behind, but I'm going to be there for her now, Maman. I'll make it up to her.”

He turned and began to walk out of the room, but stopped, turning again to look at the painting. 

He and his mother shared the same eyes. Adrien wished he shared her courage.

“Maman, what would you say if you were here? Would you comfort me? Would you scold me?”

Shaking his head, he spoke more firmly. “You trusted me, and I let both you and Chloé down. I won’t make that mistake again. I owe her too much for that.”

Adrien left and headed into the mansion’s private gym, which had for several years been set up for his fencing practice. Sometimes, he thought the only things that kept him sane were fencing and the secret life he led as Chat Noir.

He picked up his fencing mask and looked at it, lost in thought.

“I do owe her,” he whispered.

When they were children, Chloé had always stood up for him… always protected him. Adrien remembered one time at the park that his balloon had slipped out of his hand after a fumbled handoff from the teen selling them, and Adrien could only watch as it made a slow, steady progress out over the Seine. He had been distraught. Maman had only given him enough money for one balloon, and Chloé, who hadn’t wanted a balloon, had no money either. The surly teenager manning the booth had just shrugged and told him tough luck.

The boy hadn’t counted on Chloé, though. She demanded another, saying the boy should have been more careful handing Adrien his balloon. When he sneered at her, she kicked him in both shins and started loudly berating him. 

Fortunately, Maman and Madame Bourgeois had arrived in time to save the teenager from an irate Chloé, although from the look on his face he was already considering releasing the balloons and bolting.

Chloé had in the end gotten him another balloon, though.

It wasn’t as if that was the only moment Chloé had come through for him, either. Adrien had been a quiet, shy child. Adults had always seemed to prefer him to the louder, more demanding Chloé, if only because they could safely ignore him and pretend he wasn’t even in the room. Chloé would never allow anyone to ignore Adrien when she was around.

Whenever they had playdates with other children, Chloé always made sure that Adrien was included in any games. She made sure no one made fun of how quiet he was, and she was always pointing out how smart and nice he was to anyone that would listen.

His favorite memories, though, were of how frequently she tried to get him to buy ice cream. Adrien had been terrified of ordering at counters. He didn’t like talking to strangers, and he would always freeze up. Chloé refused to accept this and always pushed him to order. She thought it would be good for him to be more outgoing, but she always stopped when it looked as if he might cry. Then, she would go order two scoops of mint chocolate chip to share with him—and Chloé **loathed** any kind of mint ice cream. While they ate, Chloé would lie and talk about how much closer he got to ordering for himself that day.

She was also the one to push him to go to school instead of just studying with a tutor. Chloé saw how miserable he was and told him that he had to get out of the mansion. She had been right, although his arrival at Collège Françoise Dupont had been the beginning of Chloé and him drifting apart. That was in the past, though, and they now had another chance. She had been so determined earlier today that he couldn’t help but be reminded of how strong and courageous she could be when she wasn’t sabotaging herself.

Adrien smiled as he put on his fencing mask and took up his épée. 

Chloé had always been fierce. That much remained constant. Was it any surprise he had had a crush on his brave, beautiful friend when they were small? The Chloé he knew from back then reminded him so much of the woman he loved now, Ladybug. 

His smile faltered. As he threw himself into the first form, Adrien turned his thoughts back to Chloé. That was safer than dwelling on Ladybug.

Sometimes he wondered how things might have turned out differently for the two of them. Just a small change or two, and he might have been the one to become bitter and isolated by the walls he’d built around himself, while Chloé ended up as a superhero dashing around the city with Ladybug. It could have happened. After all, Adrien felt that his life and Chloé’s had many parallels. Both of them were wealthy and lived in comfortable circumstances. They were both intelligent, attractive, and could be charismatic. They were really lucky in a lot of ways. 

But the similarities didn’t only extend to the good parts of their lives. Adrien would never voice this to Chloé, but in his estimation the mayor wasn’t much better than his own father. And that was saying something as Gabriel Agreste was an awful man. Cold and distant described him on his best days. Adrien didn’t even want to think about his father’s worst days.

Chloé’s father, on the other hand, doted on her, and he was highly protective of her. He would give her the world if he could, and nothing was too good for his precious girl. Below the surface, though, was a wariness whenever he dealt with his daughter. Adrien believed Chloé wasn’t consciously aware of it, but it was easy for Adrien to see. He had learned to watch for the subtle scars of a parent’s disapproval, and Mayor Bourgeois’ displeasure definitely affected Chloé. Adrien believed that trying to find a way to please her father was a major reason Chloé went so overboard with her behavior. 

Adrien stopped when he grew short of breath, pulling back his mask to wipe the sweat from his face. Fencing was wonderful exercise and his mind was always clearer after.

He had always noticed things that Chloé didn’t… except that wasn’t quite true. She did often notice, but seemed unable to adapt whenever things weren’t orderly. It was obvious from an early age that she faced certain difficulties. Her parents had a hard time getting her to play with other children unless she had Adrien with her. Chloé also had some very pronounced personality quirks and behavior patterns, and very rigid ideas about how everyone and everything should be. If a person or a situation didn’t conform in a way that Chloé thought was proper, she would panic and frequently retreat into herself, refusing to interact for long stretches.

While Mayor Bourgeois always seemed uncomfortable with the idea that everything wasn’t perfectly normal, Adrien could take some comfort in the fact that he knew the root of his actions was that he was afraid someone would hurt his daughter. In truth, both Chloé’s parents worried about her, especially her maman. He had overheard a few conversations to that effect between Madame Bourgeois and his maman. 

Adrien’s maman worried for her friend’s daughter, too, as Adrien knew from those same snippets of conversations he had overheard. What to do about Chloé was always on her parents’ minds, and since Madame Bourgeois had no closer friend than Madame Agreste, a great deal of time was devoted on the part of his maman to soothing Chloé’s mother. The two women had been friends since childhood and were as close as sisters. 

Sometimes that had caused friction between his parents. Gabriel Agreste was a jealous man, and the fact that Maman flat-out refused to discuss with him or anyone else anything she talked about with Madame Bourgeois did not sit well with him. Usually, Maman would humor his father, but on this one subject Maman had been adamant. He recalled one time late at night when he had been awoken by an argument between his parents, and he could remember with perfect clarity how his maman had said to Father that if he tried to force Madame Bourgeois out of her life, it would be the last demand he ever made of her. 

The force of her words had convinced Adrien, and he imagined it had convinced Father, as he never heard them arguing again about the subject.

Putting away his fencing gear, Adrien took a quick shower. After he toweled off, he headed upstairs, wishing that Plagg was here.

On his way, he passed the portrait room and shut the door, but not before one more long look at Maman.

He couldn’t say she was wrong to worry about Chloé and ask Adrien to look after her, especially after what he witnessed in the aftermath of Chloé kissing Angelique. 

Adrien still vividly remembered the fallout from the incident. Chloé’s response to something Adrien had seen as a minor faux pas had been disastrous, and that was perhaps understating it. Feeling rejected by Angelique, Chloé had withdrawn so deeply that for weeks she was completely unresponsive to anyone except Adrien, and she didn’t even seem to know he was there most of the time either. To this day, Adrien had never been more scared than he had been watching his friend staring ahead blankly, not hearing or seeing anything. The thought of losing Chloé in that way was far more frightening to him than anything he had faced as Chat Noir.

Secretly, this was part of why Adrien had been so tolerant of Chloé’s antics over the years. To this day, he worried what could happen if she was pushed too far. If he had needed a reminder of how close to the edge she could venture, Chloé’s panic attack earlier today insured he couldn’t take her state of mind for granted even if she was comfortable enough to openly date Marinette—and how weird was that?

Shutting the door and walking up the stairs, Adrien found he could barely wrap his brain around the shyest girl he had ever met dating the volatile blonde, especially since Chloé had always treated Marinette as her sworn enemy. 

Of course, certain things made more sense in light of Chloé’s new romantic situation. He hadn’t understood why Chloé had decided to make a career out of antagonizing the shy, friendly girl, even going so far as to allow Marinette to think that Adrien had pranked her on his first day of school. Chloé would have never allowed Adrien to take the blame for anything she did before that day. He had finally decided that she must be jealous and want Adrien to have as few friends as possible, so that she wouldn’t lose him.

It hadn’t occurred to him that Chloé was attracted to Marinette then, but in retrospect it was a bit obvious. Maybe if everything hadn’t been going on with the Miraculous and Stoneheart, he would have seen the truth. Still, he might have missed it as Marinette was the complete opposite of Angelique, and Chloé had been so devoted to Angelique that he had difficulty imagining her showing interest in another girl.

Entering his room, Adrien threw himself onto the bed and tried to relax. 

He hoped his father would leave him alone and give him the three days he had promised to consider the ultimatum. 

After the confrontation with the new man in Ladybug’s life, Adrien had come home to find his father once again demanding that he enroll in a business school his father had picked out and sign a contract to work for his father’s company. Something in Adrien had snapped. He was already on the verge of losing the woman he loved, and he couldn’t take his father’s derision any longer.

The fight had been a long time coming, and it felt cathartic. Unfortunately, Gabriel Agreste wasn’t a man to take defiance lightly and had issued the ultimatum that Adrien could accept his demands within three days or be cut off and thrown out to live on the street.

Sighing, he noticed his phone blinking, indicating a text. He had left his phone upstairs after Chloé said she was coming over because he didn’t want to deal with any calls from his father.

He hoped the message wasn’t from his father, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was from Nino, asking if he wanted to go to a club with him and Lila.

Ordinarily, Adrien would have entertained the idea, especially with his father out of town, but tonight he just wanted to sleep and pretend yesterday and today hadn’t happened. He had a valid excuse for being tired, even without giving away his alter ego. Last night, his sleep had been restless to say the least. 

After he finally managed to get to sleep after the blow-up with his father, Adrien had a dream where he was in the countryside with people he was sure he recognized but couldn’t quite place. The dream had really bothered him, but he could only remember bits and pieces of it. When he had woken up, he told Plagg what little he could remember, and the cat kwami had quizzed him over the dream, saying it was very important although Plagg wouldn’t say why. The kwami wouldn’t even admit to being angry about the dream, even though he obviously was.

Plagg’s refusal to explain why he was upset hurt Adrien more than the kwami probably realized. In a sense, Plagg was his best friend. The kwami was the only one that Adrien could be completely honest with. No one else knew about his dual identity and his life as one half of Paris’ superhero couple, although “couple” was probably not the correct way to put it now. 

The rest of the night had been very tense as Adrien couldn’t get back to sleep and Plagg had sulked in the corner. He even refused any offer of Camembert, which Adrien had blatantly offered as a bribe if he would talk.

Then this morning, Plagg had suddenly looked up at the sky, and Adrien could plainly see that the kwami was furious. Plagg had turned to him, saying he had to go, but he would return tomorrow. 

Before Adrien could even say a word, Plagg left.

Not even five minutes later, Adrien’s father stormed in saying he had a business emergency, and he would be gone until tomorrow as well. It was an odd coincidence, but Adrien had at first felt relieved to have some alone time. His slightly improved mood only lasted a few hours before he couldn’t help but dwell on his misery over Ladybug, leading him to text Chloé for support.

And she had pulled through for him. That was good. It was a positive step for her. Adrien decided to hold onto that.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Adrien decided he needed to answer Nino. It wasn’t right to ignore a friend. Grumbling, he picked up his phone and texted Nino that he was tired and his day had been too awful to consider going out.

Less than thirty seconds later, he got a response.

 **Nino:** Awful day? Lila asks if ur ok

And with that, Adrien knew he wasn’t going to get out of this easily.

When Nino and Lila had gotten together about a year ago, many an eyebrow was raised among their friends. Nino was the laid-back guy everyone loved. He was always bright, cheery, and upbeat, and he was definitely the life of any party. 

Lila… Well, Lila had a more controversial reputation in their class. She was smart and incredibly pretty, but she was also extremely insecure and had only a passing acquaintance with the truth. On the other hand, she was unwaveringly loyal when she decided she liked a person. Truthfully, the only reason Lila wasn’t a pariah due to her antics when she had first transferred to their school was Chloé’s one-woman campaign to claim the title of Worst Classmate Ever.

But Nino and Lila had turned out to be great for each other, to almost everyone’s surprise. Rose had been the only optimist about the relationship, but Rose was an optimist about literally everything. Adrien had to admit she had been right, though. Nino thrived with a person who would push him instead of letting him slide because he was such a sweet guy, and Lila really needed someone she could always rely on to be positive and supportive. She didn’t talk about it often, but her mother’s job had required them to move frequently until she landed a permanent position in Paris, and Lila had grown up never being able to count on having the same friends for more than a few months.

The downside—if it could be called that—was that both Nino and Lila had taken on Adrien’s social life as a kind of personal project over the past few months. Lila said that he moped way too much and since she had met Nino via Adrien, she felt she could show her gratitude by making it her responsibility to give him what she called a “spiritual smack upside the head” until he got his act together. 

Nino had nodded sagely when Lila had announced this. The traitor.

Adrien groaned and responded to Nino’s text.

 **Adrien:** yeah im fine

 **Nino:** Lila says liar

 **Adrien:** how would lila know

 **Nino:** dude

Adrien laughed despite himself. Okay, maybe he did have a tendency to get down on himself.

 **Adrien:** fine not ok rly but will sleep and be good tmrw

 **Nino:** Nope on our way now

Oh, no. Adrien had been afraid of this. If they had decided Adrien needed saving from himself, they weren’t going to give up easily.

 **Adrien:** what

 **Nino:** Lila driving. I have no power. Prepare to be rescued. cu in 20

Adrien dropped his phone on the bed and blew out a breath staring at the ceiling. He was going out to the club. There was no getting around it. Luckily, as a model he had plenty of club-worthy outfits.

It didn’t take him long to get ready, and he buzzed his friends through the gate when they arrived.

Lila, upon seeing that Adrien had already conceded any argument about going out, let out a high-pitched squeal of victory before glomping Adrien and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“See?” she said to Nino. “I told you he was too smart to argue with me, Caro!”

She gave Adrien another squeeze before letting him go.

Nino chuckled and patted Adrien on the shoulder. “You ready to go, man?”

Adrien sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. “Well, I suppose,” he said playfully. 

Lila pinched his ear and started pulling him along by it, saying, “You are funny, mio polpetto. Now get in the car.”

“Ow!” Adrien exclaimed, although that didn’t loosen Lila’s grip on his earlobe at all. “Ow! Okay, okay! Car! I’m getting in the car! Jesus, Lila!”

Lila let his ear go and patted him on the cheek as Adrien got in the back of the car. “Of course you are.”

Nino was laughing as Adrien rubbed his ear.

“Traitor,” the blond muttered, but he couldn’t maintain his scowl and was quickly smiling.

“First rule of relationships,” Nino said as he stroked Lila’s shoulder. “Pick your battles.”

“And the second rule,” Lila added. “Is that I am always right.”

“Of course you are, my love,” Nino humored her before directing his attention to their passenger. “How are you doing back there, Bro?”

Adrien tapped his chin in thought before answering. “Only feeling a little kidnapped.”

“We’ll work on that then,” Nino responded.

“Yes,” Lila agreed. “We can’t have you feeling we’ve only done this halfway.”

“Discuss it over drinks at the club?” Nino asked.

“Good idea,” Adrien agreed, and Lila hummed her assent.

Three hours and a great deal of dancing later, Adrien had to admit that he did feel better. The trio decided to take a break and Adrien used one of the perks of being a famous model to get them a private table. 

“So,” Nino said. “Want to talk about it? It’s cool if you don’t.”

Adrien shrugged. It wasn’t as if this was any different from what usually bothered him. His father was completely unreasonable about everything, and Ladybug didn’t see him in the same way he saw her. She had always let him know there was someone else she was interested in, but she had never seemed to get anywhere with that relationship until recently. The part that truly hurt was that Ladybug trusted this other man with her identity.

The only new wrinkle in his depressed mood was that he had confronted his feelings about how bad a friend he had been to Chloé, but that was also the only salvageable item on the list as far as he was concerned.

Lila patted his hand and tutted. “Is it your father? Or is it that b—”

Nino coughed loudly interrupting Lila, who was definitely about to call the woman Adrien loved a bitch. 

Adrien gave her an annoyed glare, and she shrugged as if he was being bothersome over nothing.

“Or is it your **special** friend, Paris’ superhero, Ladybug?” she continued with about as much enthusiasm for Ladybug as she would have for a large, scary spider landing on her face.

One thing that had remained constant over the years was that Lila despised Ladybug after their initial encounter. In all fairness, Adrien had to admit that while Lila had created the mess in the first place with her very dubious relationship with the truth, Ladybug had gone too far in her response.

One did not humiliate Lila Rossi and expect to be friends afterwards.

Adrien didn’t like the hostility towards Ladybug one bit, but as long as Lila didn’t take it too far, he was willing to let things go mostly because Ladybug didn’t hold a grudge against Lila. He discovered that fact once while he and Ladybug were relaxing at the Tower. Adrien had mentioned seeing her and Lila interact after an akuma attack. Ladybug had tried to apologize again for her part in the Volpina incident and Lila had stonewalled her. Ladybug had told him it was okay if Lila didn’t want to forgive her since there were people in Ladybug’s life she would never consider forgiving for things they had done. 

Adrien had wanted to ask who she meant, but as Ladybug talked about whoever this person was, she had a dark look on her face that gave Adrien pause. All she would say was that the person was completely awful to her in her civilian life and tormented her every chance they got, and that forgiveness was out of the question.

Just thinking about what kind of horrible person would treat his lady that way made his blood boil. His anger must have shown on his face because both his friends suddenly looked very concerned.

“Sorry,” Adrien said, sitting back and taking a sip of his drink. “It’s my father,” Adrien lied. He didn’t want to say his mood was due to his lady being in love with someone else. Lila would never let up if he did. 

“And this has nothing at all to do with Ladybug?” Nino asked.

“No,” he said, trying to mentally will his friends to drop it.

“We do not believe you,” Lila said calmly taking her drink as it arrived.

“Not even for a second,” Nino added. 

“Et tu, Nino?” Adrien asked. If being curt didn’t work, maybe playing it off as humor would get them to leave the subject alone.

Both his friends just stared at him, unblinking.

“Is it that obvious?” Adrien finally broke down and replied. It seemed he wasn’t going to get away with his plan to not discuss his love life.

Both his friends nodded decisively. 

He didn’t want to lie to them, and it might even help to talk about it. Maybe. So he took a chance that Lila would take it easy on his Bugaboo for once.

“Okay, I admit it. I did have a chance to talk to Ladybug, and she’s seeing someone now, and yes I’m bummed about it.”

Lila made a sound from the back of her throat that sounded almost like a growl. “If she doesn’t see how amazing you are, then she’s an idiot.”

At Nino’s exasperated look and Adrien’s frown, Lila looked offended. “What? Adrien’s handsome, sweet, and a complete gentleman.”

Adrien gave her a small, sad smile. “Thanks,” he said.

“Did I mention handsome?” Lila said, winking.

“Feel free to mention that as many times as you want,” Adrien laughed. “But she’s not an idiot. She’s just… in love with someone else.”

That was really hard to say out loud. He thought he might have to get used to saying it.

Lila shrugged and said, “Her loss then.” She threw back her single-malt scotch in a single swallow. Lila was a serious woman when it came to her choice of drink. 

“I gotta agree with Lila, Bro,” Nino said, holding his hands up defensively when Adrien glared at him. “Not with her phrasing. Ladybug’s not an idiot or a… um… you know… b-word, but if she’s not interested then it’s her loss, not yours.”

Lila made a sound of disgust and cut her eyes at Nino. “B-word?” she asked. “Io sono circondato da bambini!”

The two men blinked at her. Neither spoke enough Italian to keep up with Lila when she was annoyed.

Lila blew out a deep breath. 

“Whatever,” she said. “There are over a dozen women in this club alone who would claw out my eyes to be sitting where I am right now. Would they be dreaming about murdering me if they weren’t jealous?”

Adrien shrugged. He hated this, even though he knew they meant well.

“What?” Lila said. “You do not believe you are a desirable man?”

Adrien raised a dubious eyebrow, fearing where this was going.

“We’re going to take you home tonight,” Lila continued, looking him boldly in the eye. “And after we’re done with you, you’ll never doubt how desirable you are again.”

Adrien laughed into his drink. It was not uncommon for Lila to proposition him. The first time she had done this, Adrien had thought she was joking, but Nino let him know that she most certainly wasn’t, and although Nino didn’t want to risk his friendship with Adrien, he had no objections if the blond ever wanted to join them. When Adrien had looked at them incredulously, Lila had explained that they were all young, attractive people, and she and Nino were very secure in their relationship.

Honestly, it was hard to argue with her logic, even if a threesome wasn’t the conclusion Adrien reached himself.

“Lila,” Adrien began cautiously. He was flattered even if he wasn’t ever going to take them up on the offer. “You are both very attractive, but I am as always a one-woman man.”

“And that woman is a fool if she’s rejected you.”

Adrien cleared his throat and said, “Well… I maybe didn’t make it super clear that I’m totally in love with her.” He looked at his empty Mojito glass nervously before waving to a waitress to bring him another. Unfortunately, his attempt at a distraction didn’t work.

“Dude,” Nino said, annoyance lacing his voice. “You didn’t **tell** her you’re in love with her? When she said she’s seeing someone, you at least said that you have feelings for her, right?”

“It’s not that easy,” Adrien argued.

“Pssht!” Lila said, rolling her eyes. “Merda! You’re better than that!”

Adrien shrugged again.

Lila stared at him for a moment before saying, “Here, I will show you.”

Intrigued, Adrien watched her turn to Nino and say in a deep voice that Adrien assumed was meant to imitate him, “Hello, my polka-dot clad lover! You are looking especially plain, but somehow I am compelled to adore you!”

Nino fluttered his eyes in what Adrien assumed was meant to be a seductive manner and said in a high pitch, “Hello, my handsome male model friend. What brings you here tonight? Are you here to see me talk about Mon Chaton, the man I love?”

This was a bit uncomfortable for Adrien since most of Paris did assume incorrectly that Chat Noir and Ladybug were involved. He would know that wasn’t the case, considering.

Lila stood and responded by swiveling her head to the side, looking stern and holding her arms akimbo. Evidently, that’s what people thought models did when they talked. 

Adrien laughed.

His friends ignored him, and Lila continued looking into the distance with her head turned as she said, “You must drop that alley cat. He is not worthy of your love!” She turned to Nino and fiercely grabbed his hand. “Look at me and my beauty for I… I am a male model! Now let us make sweet love! I, at least, am desirable and can make you somewhat desirable, too, if you remain close to me.”

Insults to Ladybug aside, Adrien was ready to roll in the floor laughing, but he maintained what composure he could because he was curious to see where they went with this.

Nino put a dramatic hand to his forehead. “Yes! I see it now in all your model-y gloriousness! How could I have been so blind!”

“Not only blind and self-righteous, but you are somehow unaware you mean everything to me despite my wise friend Lila’s advice that I can do so much better!”

“But,” Nino said looking pained. “You have never said anything, and now I’ve given my heart to another! Whatever shall I do!”

“Curses!” Lila said, clutching her hands to her heart. “What a fool I am! All I had to do to win your run-of-the-mill affections was to proclaim my love! Oh, well! Now I will find a worthy donna. Perhaps after many nights of wanton pleasure with my very wise and very hot friends, Nino and Lila!”

Then the couple made a show of crying before Nino joined Lila in standing. They took a bow to Adrien’s only somewhat sarcastic applause.

“Well,” Adrien said. “No need for any acting awards this year. You’ve got them all wrapped up.”

Nino preened. “Thank you, and despite my gorgeous partner’s questionable embellishments about Ladybug’s character, she has a point. If Ladybug is in love with someone else, you should move on.”

Adrien nodded and downed his drink. He was starting to feel a buzz. Good, he thought. He was going to need it to get through the next few days.

“Adrien,” Lila said taking his hand. He looked up at her and she had dropped all pretense of kidding around. She looked sad and serious. “It’s okay to be upset about this. I may not like Ladybug, but… and if you ever repeat this you can never share our bed…”

At Adrien’s open expression of disbelief, Lila scoffed. “I mean it! There will come a day where you will look at the two of us and say ‘My God! How have I denied these sexy people my company?!’ but if you ever repeat this, you will ruin that chance!”

“Okay,” Adrien said. “Lips are sealed I guess.”

Lila nodded. “Ladybug is a very good person and she’s saved Paris more times than any of us can count. If she were to fall in love with you, I know you would make her happy every day, so yes it’s okay to be sad.” She gripped his hand tightly. “But you can not stop living your life. Ladybug wouldn’t want that. None of us want that for you.”

Adrien nodded, but Lila wasn’t finished.

“But it doesn’t matter what we want,” she continued. “Not until you want that and make it happen.”

“And we’ll be here for you, Bro, okay? If you decide to put yourself out there and date, we’re here for you. If you decided you’re going to go after Ladybug and consequences be damned, we’re still here for you, alright?” Nino added.

This was eerily similar to the advice Chloé had given him. Suddenly all his thoughts on Chloé from earlier rushed back to him. He needed to let her know how thankful he was to be her friend and how he regretted not being there for her the past several years.

“I should tell her how much she means to me,” he muttered. “She should know that at least.”

“Yes,” Lila said. “You should tell Ladybug your true feelings. Just be upfront as possible. It's the only way.”

Blinking, Adrien realized he had spoken at least part of his thoughts aloud. 

“You’re right,” Adrien said as if he had been speaking about his lady the entire time. It was good advice on Lila’s part anyway. Smiling, Adrien pulled both of his friends into a hug, ignoring Lila’s statement about this being the first step towards accepting the inevitable threesome.

Several hours later, the couple deposited Adrien at home. Lila had fortunately stopped at two drinks for the entire evening since she was driving, confirming to Adrien that she really was the smart one of the three. He had gotten a bit carried away with the mojitos and was quite tipsy by the time he made his way to his bedroom.

He had great friends, he thought fuzzily as he pulled on his pajamas. He really did, and he was so pleased that Chloé and he were reconnecting. He had missed her so much the past few years while she went into a self-destructive shell that he couldn’t figure out how to break into. Even today, he had screwed up and sent her into a panic attack over Angelique, who was honestly a really awful person.

On a whim, he opened his laptop and searched for Angelique on social media. He was surprised at how easily he found her accounts. He sent a Facebook request and a message with it. It seemed very important right now that he tell the girl that she had done a lot of damage to Chloé.

Adrien was surprised that even at nearly three in the morning, his friend request was accepted within minutes along with a response to the message he had sent.

Despite his initial determination to tell her off, it wasn’t really in his nature to be that confrontational—when out of costume at least. He talked to Angelique for almost an hour trying to get a feel for whether she was still the same awful brat she had been before leaving Paris. He got the feeling she was, but it was always possible he was wrong and she had changed in the past eight years. For the sake of thoroughness, he agreed that it might be nice for her to visit, and Angelique made plans to visit him on Wednesday. She lived in London now, and was unavailable until then. 

Adrien shut his laptop, content with his alcohol-induced plan to determine what kind of person Angelique was these days and then either tell her off or reintroduce her to Chloé. 

He made a mental note to update Chloé in the morning. 

Unfortunately, upon waking, he recalled neither contacting Angelique nor that he should warn Chloé before Angelique came to the city. He was too busy nursing his hangover and making a resolution to never get drunk again.

Glancing at the clock, he noted it was almost ten in the morning. His father hadn’t returned, Adrien was sure of it, or he would have certainly heard from him by now.

Plagg, however, was sitting on Adrien’s nightstand, still looking as cross as he had yesterday.

“Hey,” Adrien croaked out. 

Plagg raised an eyebrow and took a bite of Camembert. The smell of the cheese made Adrien wish he was dead.

“I take it someone had an interesting night,” the kwami snarked.

Adrien didn’t have the strength to snark back. Instead, he settled for saying, “Want to talk about why you’re angry?”

Before Plagg could respond, Adrien’s communication device activated. His stomach dropped. Fighting an akuma in this condition was low on his list of good ideas, but he couldn’t ever ignore a call from his lady.

“My lady,” Adrien said, answering.

“Chat,” Ladybug said, uncertainty clear in her voice. “You sound upset. Are you okay?”

“Oh, you know us cats! It’s a lazy morning sleeping in a sunbeam,” Adrien replied, forcing himself to sound cheerful despite his enemy, the sun, doing its level best to make his head split in half.

“Okay,” Ladybug responded. “If you’re sure.”

“Is there an emergency, My Lady?”

“No,” Ladybug said, pausing. She was hesitating. That, combined with Plagg’s sour mood, worried Adrien.

“Does this have something to do with why I have a very upset kwami?” he asked.

The sigh coming from the receiver was all the response he really needed, but Ladybug confirmed his suspicion.

“There’s been a development. Can we meet at the Tower?”

For several beats, Adrien didn’t answer. Some irrational part of him feared this must have something to do with the man that Ladybug had feelings for. If he didn’t answer… if he didn’t go to the tower… then part of him could pretend this wasn’t real.

But it **was** real.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said quietly, hanging up.

Adrien turned to face Plagg. The kwami had put his cheese down and looked at Adrien sympathetically.

“It’ll be okay, Plagg,” Adrien said.

Plagg sighed. “I should be the one comforting you.”

“Okay, now I’m worried,” Adrien answered. His rival must have talked about their confrontation at the tower. The man had indicated he wouldn’t, but he must not have been able to resist eliminating the competition. 

That didn’t explain why Plagg was angry… unless he had talked to Tikki, who would have of course told him that Ladybug knew and was angry.

The kwami grunted, which wasn’t much of an answer, so Adrien got up, filled with apprehension.

Plagg made him drink a glass of water before they left although he still wouldn’t say what was bothering him, and soon he was speeding towards the Eiffel Tower and Ladybug.

Spotting his partner, Adrien wasted no time vaulting up to where Ladybug stood, waiting. Standing in front of her, he bowed with a showy flourish and said, “You are looking absolutely Purr-fect this morning, My Lady.”

He stood up straight and grinned at her, despite feeling like his heart was breaking in half. He knew what was coming. He had no illusion that she was about to declare her love for him, but he would be damned if he would act as shamefully as he had when he was last here standing across from his rival.

Ladybug gave him a wry smile and an eye-roll for his efforts.

“You are completely incorrigible, Mon Chaton,” she said.

Adrien laughed, “Too true, but it’s always worth it to see your gorgeous smile. You said there’s been a development? Is it something to do with Hawk Moth?”

“Yes,” Ladybug replied, looking suddenly nervous. “But it’s… complicated.”

“Ladybug,” Chat said, soothingly. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

She didn’t initially respond. Instead, she stared out over the Paris skyline, looking pensive. Finally, she nodded as if confirming something to herself and turned to him with a smile.

“Yes, there’s been a development, Chat,” she began. “Has Plagg told you what’s happened?”

Adrien scoffed. “No, he’s throwing a small tantrum.” He hesitated before continuing. Ladybug’s nerves seemed contagious. “I know he’s angry, and he did confirm it has something to do with us. He mentioned he would be there for me, which is a bit ominous. Nothing else.”

“Okay,” Ladybug said, distracted and lost in thought. “Okay, I’m not sure where to start.”

“At the beginning perhaps?” Adrien suggested.

“That’s as good a place as any, I suppose,” she said, taking a seat and patting the area next to her.

Adrien sat beside her and waited, trying not to show that he dreaded hearing whatever it was she didn’t want to say.

“Have you noticed that the akumas are getting stronger?” she asked, and when he nodded yes, she continued. “It seems it isn’t just our imaginations. There’s this mystic force or something according to Tikki, and it powers Hawk Moth. She wasn’t super clear about the details on that. Has Plagg ever mentioned it?”

“No, My Lady, he hasn’t,” Adrien replied. “This is news to me.”

“Turns out that this force grows stronger over time,” she continued. “And it’s making the akumas stronger.”

Adrien felt hollow. He trusted Ladybug completely, and she was a great hero, but he didn’t like the idea of akuma victims becoming more dangerous to her.

“The kwami came up with something a long time ago to fight against this,” she said, quietly. “They call it ‘the bond.’”

She trailed off, and a part of Adrien wanted to know more, but there was obviously bad news involved in this, too. He worried that it might put Ladybug in even greater jeopardy.

“Is the bond dangerous?” he asked.

“No, it’s not that” she answered, but he didn’t think she was telling the whole truth. Before he could ask what she was keeping from him, she spoke again. “Tikki said it’s a stable thing.”

Trying another tactic besides saying she wasn’t telling him everything, he decided to ask for details in an effort to get her to open up more. 

“What does it do?” he asked.

“It’s a psychic link. When you or I are bonded to someone, we gain power during the time we’re transformed.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” he offered. “But then why is Plagg upset?”

“Technically, the bond is intended for you and me.”

“What do you mean ‘technically?’”

“I mean we don’t have to bond to each other. It can be someone else.”

“And **is** it someone else?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Adrien said slowly. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”

“The bond is permanent. Tikki said it was like two souls forged into one by love.”

“Love?”

Ladybug nodded.

“And you’re bonded to someone else… by love.” Adrien heard his own voice as if it were far, far away, and he hoped that somehow he was dreaming even though he knew he wasn’t. “Permanently. Like… destined soulmates.”

“No, it’s a choice. It’s not destiny.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. This felt like the end of everything.

Ladybug’s next words were a whisper and Adrien might have missed them except that the wind died at that precise moment.

“Tikki also said you’re in love with me,” Ladybug murmured. “You’re not, are you? I told her that’s ridiculous.”

“Why would it be ridiculous?” he asked, hurt.

“Because you’re Chat Noir. You’re funny and daring and never really serious. You make jokes about how attracted you are to me, and I play along shooting you down.”

He sat there stunned as she continued.

“And… and we don’t even know each other. Not really,” she said. “How can you love someone if you don’t even know their real name?”

“I’ve loved you since I met you,” Adrien said, hating how thick his voice sounded. “And I don’t know your real name because you’ve always insisted we hide our identities. I respect your choice. I always have, but I’ve always wanted to be close to you… to love you.”

It was now Ladybug’s turn to look shocked.

“But that’s impossible,” she said.

“That I love you? Why? Because I joke around?”

“No,” she replied. “Because… I don’t know… It just is! Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I did. I thought you knew. I made jokes to… take the sting out of it in case you didn’t return my feelings, and now I know that you never really did. You always talked about a boy you were interested in, and now you have him and he has you.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I never had him. I met someone else… Or it’s more accurate to say I’ve gotten to know someone else better and I fell in love with them.”

“Then he’s the luckiest guy in the world,” Adrien said with a sigh. “He’s good to you? I hate to ask, and I know you wouldn’t tolerate someone who wasn’t, but I need to hear it. I have to know he’s good to you, and I need to hear it from you.”

“She’s very good to me, Mon Chaton,” Ladybug answered, looking distraught over his pain.

He blinked, surprised. “She?”

Ladybug nodded.

Comprehension dawned on Adrien. So that’s why the masked “man” hadn’t spoken! Perhaps it was backwards of him, but he felt even worse that the person he had threatened was a woman.

“I… I am glad she’s good to you,” he finally said.

“I know we were chosen because we were likely to fall in love, but—” Ladybug began before he interrupted her.

“What? What do you mean?”

“One of the reasons you and I were chosen to bear the Miraculous was because the kwami thought we would fall in love,” she replied, gently. 

Adrien was stunned. She was supposed to fall in love with him?

“But… you fell in love with someone else,” Adrien managed to get out finally.

“It just… happened.”

“‘Just happened?’ How…” he began, but stopped. Adrien wasn’t sure how to ask her how she hadn’t **just happened** to fall in love with him if they were picked because they would fall in love. Instead, he asked, “How did it ‘just happen?’”

Ladybug shrugged, and she had a wistful look as she began to speak of the woman she had fallen in love with. 

“I’m not sure, Mon Chaton. It wasn’t planned. I had thought I…” she looked down at the crowd below and took a deep breath. Her voice fell as she spoke again as if she were ashamed of her words. “I thought I hated her.” 

Adrien’s eyebrows threatened to climb off his face. That wasn’t what he would have ever expected Ladybug to say.

“I thought I knew her, and I thought she had nothing to offer anyone except trouble. But circumstances… changed, and before I knew it, I had seen depths to her that I never imagined. 

“She’s strong and smart and funny and I never quite know what to expect from her.”

She looked at him and the love was so clear that Adrien—as heartbroken as he was—couldn’t find it in his heart to resent this woman who had stolen his lady’s heart.

Ladybug’s smile was wide and pure in its joy and she practically gushed, “After she accidentally figured out my identity, and… and she was nothing but supportive and I came to trust her so completely, and then yesterday she was helping me with something, and I looked at her and I just **knew** that I had fallen in love with her. I saw her standing there in my home and I knew that I wanted to spend every waking moment with her, and any moment I’m away from her is time wasted.

“Maybe that doesn’t sound like much,” Ladybug went on. “But I had always thought of her as a person who put herself first no matter what. I found out that she had her reasons… that not everything in her life was as easy as I thought… but since I’ve gotten to know her… Oh, Chat, once she let me in, I discovered how passionate and generous she can be. I don’t really know how to explain it.”

“I think you just did, My Lady,” Adrien said, working hard to keep the pain out of his voice. “You spent time with her, and you found out that she was attractive to you. The more time you spent together, the more drawn to her you were until you fell in love.”

She took his hand and squeezed. They sat quietly for a few minutes like that.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said, sounding relieved.

“I… I think I need to process this,” he said, honestly. “Is it okay if I go on patrol on my own today? I’ll call you if anything major happens. I promise.”

“Okay,” she said, quietly.

He turned to leave, but stopped when he heard her voice. He did not turn to face her as she spoke. He didn’t have the strength.

“Chat,” she began. “I know there’s someone out there for you. You are so incredibly brave and wonderful. Someone is going to be so very lucky to have your love.”

He kept his back to her as he replied, “My Lady, I know you’re in love with someone else, and I respect that. It doesn’t change my feelings, though. I will love you every day of my life.

“If you ever return my love, I’ll be the happiest man in Paris, but there isn’t anyone else for me. You’re not the kind of woman someone gets over… not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”

Without waiting for a response, he leapt from the Tower. By the time he reached the ground, his trademark grin was in place. He didn’t want to disappoint the tourists.

There had been enough disappointment for one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to the second story in my series! I hope you find it as enjoyable to read as it is for me to write.
> 
> Once again, my first order of business is to thank the Best Beta Editor Ever, asimaiyat, who puts up with 7,000 - 10,000 word chapters. Honestly, not a lot of beta readers would do that. In an effort to not drive her to unnecessary moments of anxiety, I'm going to be posting each update on Fridays. I did love updating twice per week, but it did stress asimaiyat out a lot, understandably.
> 
> So how about that new POV character, huh? I hope people like this Adrien. I kind of adore him myself. I’ll warn you now, this story will be so full of Adrien Feels that we might drown in the drama. Asimaiyat finds me using a Kerouac quote and this particular Killers song for my first Adrien chapter to be highly appropriate. I hope others do, too!
> 
> The only thing I ask is that we keep in mind this is set three or so years after the first season of the cartoon, so all the characters are 18+ and have had three years of life experiences added. 
> 
> One last note... the full Bond explanation scene happens in the next chapter. I had originally intended for that to happen in the first chapter of this story, but this first chapter fits better as the introduction to the story. (This chapter used to be the second chapter.) 
> 
> Let me know if I made typos and such! I look forward to comments and questions!


	2. I Started Looking for You Not Knowing How Blind I Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind I was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.”
> 
> — _Rumi (Translated by Coleman Barks), Poem 1246 from The Essential Rumi_ (2004)
> 
> Song Choice: “Unstoppable” by Lianne La Havas

Marinette Dupain-Cheng had never felt this exhausted. She was so sore her toes ached. She hadn’t even realized toes **could** ache.

Ever since she had accepted the Ladybug Miraculous, she had become used to having aches and pains and burns and other various exotic wounds which made her eternally grateful that her Miraculous had healing powers. She had never, however, imagined that marathon sex sessions with her new girlfriend would leave her wondering if it would be an abuse of power to heal herself and her girlfriend so they could have more sex.

It was probably unethical… but she was very tempted.

Thank god that Chloé had the foresight to put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign on her door before they had tried—and thoroughly failed—to do a “dinner and a movie” date inside the blonde’s suite. She couldn’t have recalled one detail of the film under threat of death, and dinner had ended up half-finished and cold and kind of all over the floor due to a particularly intense moment of impatience on Marinette’s part because she **really** needed a hard, flat surface right then and waiting was **not** an option.

Missing out on dinner was a small price to pay, though, because the sex? It was **so** much better than she had ever imagined it would be. 

That was a definite plus.

If it didn’t end up killing her.

Chloé seemed okay at least. For a girl without any superhuman powers, she had remarkable stamina. Marinette blushed and stifled the urge to giggle just thinking those words, and she reminded herself once again that she was a fully grown adult in an actual honest-to-god relationship with someone who was rather enthusiastically attracted to her, and she had no business acting like a silly child who giggled over perfectly normal things that fully grown adults did in actual honest-to-god relationships.

The urge to giggle didn’t fade, though, so she distracted herself by trying to memorize the soft features of her sleeping girlfriend as she slept bathed in the early morning sunlight of a beautiful Parisian day. Marinette wondered if she would ever cease to be startled by just how beautiful and peaceful Chloé looked when she slept, and it was still shocking at times to Marinette that what she was doing right now made her feel happier than she had ever been. 

The blonde smiled in her sleep and snuggled into her pillow with a low, satisfied hum.

Marinette smiled, too, while idly considering that this new mystical link thing between them might extend to letting Chloé know she was being watched.

She ran through what little she did know in her head for about the thousandth time since yesterday. First, she and Chloé could definitely sense each other’s feelings, and it wasn’t limited to simply **knowing** what the other one was feeling. Marinette had confirmed that during Chloé’s panic attack the previous afternoon, when it had caused Marinette to experience her first very own full-blown panic attack.

She was still trying to figure out how to tell Chloé that had happened without sending her into another panic, and Marinette was also quite unsure of how to warn Chloé about what she might experience during an akuma attack. As Ladybug, Marinette had learned to hide the fear behind snappy patter and deliberate bravado, because the last thing she needed was panicked civilians with no confidence in their hero to save them. But with this mental link between the two women, it seemed that Chloé would get an uncensored look at what it was really like to be menaced by a vengeful akuma.

She hoped she was wrong and there was some way she could spare her girlfriend from that.

Sighing and deciding those thoughts were better left for later, she snuggled into Chloé’s side and decided to nap until Tikki showed up from wherever she had gone.

Turned out she didn’t have to wait very long. A few minutes later, Marinette opened her eyes and blinked away sleep only to find herself staring into the kwami’s eyes about an inch away from her face.

She grinned and whispered, “Hey, Tikki.”

Tikki winked at her and flew a couple of feet into the air, and Marinette hoped that she was speaking quietly enough to not wake Chloé, but the blonde’s eyes fluttered open immediately.

Chloé smiled sleepily at Marinette, and said, “Hey, you.”

Marinette kissed her girlfriend on the nose and replied, “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Chloé stretched, and her eyes widened in shock. She grunted and said, “I… hurt.”

Marinette laughed at the expression on Chloé’s face and immediately realized her mistake as her laughter pulled her own pains to the surface.

“Ow,” she said by way of agreeing. Gathering her focus, she twitched her head in the kwami’s direction and said, “Tikki’s back.”

Chloé flopped face first onto her pillow and let out a muffled, “Hi, Tikki.”

The kwami waved and said, “Hi, Chloé! Hi, Marinette!”

Marinette reluctantly started to get up and realized she was very, very nude under the sheets.

“Tikki,” she began. “Um… Chloé and I need to put clothes on…”

Still lying face-down on her pillow, Chloé let out a muffled chuckle, sounding far too smug for Marinette’s liking, and Tikki rolled her eyes.

“Marinette,” Tikki said patiently. “I’m an immortal spirit from the dawn of time. You don’t have to get up if you’re embarrassed, but you aren’t offending me.”

Marinette would never get used to sentences like that from the adorable kwami with her sing-song voice. She turned to rally support from her girlfriend and nudged her in the shoulder.

Chloé rolled over and Marinette found it hard to breathe for a second as Chloé’s golden locks spilled over her face, pooling around her shoulders like puddles of liquid sunshine. The blonde brushed her hair from her eyes and smiled up at Tikki. “I think she’s saying we don’t have anything she hasn’t seen before, Marinette.”

Marinette flushed. She had always thought of Tikki as rather innocent about certain things.

“Anyone think maybe I like keeping things professional?” she grumbled.

Both Chloé and Tikki laughed, and Tikki flew out to the balcony after giving Marinette a cheeky salute.

Groaning, Marinette threw off the sheets, rolled over, and stood up… only to immediately sit back down. Her legs felt like jelly.

“Something wrong, Mari?” Chloé asked looking concerned.

“I can barely use my legs,” Marinette answered honestly. “I feel like I’ve run a marathon… maybe two.”

Chloé hummed and Marinette cut her eyes over to see the blonde laying back with her arms behind her head and eyes closed, wearing a self-satisfied smile.

“Why don’t **you** try and stand up, Chloé?” Marinette said, loading as much false sweetness into the question as humanly possible.

“Oh,” Chloé said, opening one lazy eye to look at her and transforming her smile to a bold leer. “I already know I’m going to be useless today.”

Marinette smirked, saying “Someone’s in a good mood.”

“Mm-hm,” Chloé replied, nodding. “I’ve just had a night of mind-blowing sex with the woman I love. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

Before Marinette could respond, Tikki flew back in, looking curious. Marinette squeaked and quickly snatched the sheets to cover herself, leaving Chloé completely exposed.

The blonde simply shrugged and continued to lounge with her hands propped behind her head.

“Marinette,” the kwami began. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?”

The brunette sputtered trying to come up with a response.

Chloé laughed again and stood up, stretching. She looked a little wobbly herself, which, perhaps pettily, made Marinette feel a bit better about her own condition.

That thought was drowned, though, in the rush of desire Marinette felt as Chloé continued to stretch her hands towards the ceiling.

Marinette gulped, feeling lightheaded as she tried once again to memorize everything about Chloé’s naked body. How did someone get legs that long and perfect?

Chloé turned her head and smirked over her shoulder at Marinette, setting off all kinds of competing emotions inside her.

But the overwhelming one was a desire to throw Chloé back onto the bed and kiss every inch of her, and she really wanted to take her time exploring Chloé’s legs. Marinette could feel that same tingling in her gut from yesterday, like some kind of knot was untying itself inside her and her hands were literally twitching with desire.

Chloé’s eyes widened and Marinette smirked, knowing Chloé could feel the yearning coursing through her, and it was the blonde’s turn to gulp and nervously run a hand through her hair.

Tikki cleared her throat and asked, “Should I give the two of you some time?”

For the second time in as many minutes, Marinette squeaked and felt her whole body blush. With the spell broken, Chloé grinned and sauntered far slower than necessary to her walk-in closet, shutting the door behind her.

“No,” Marinette replied, her voice sounding thick to her own ears. She cleared her throat and tried again, “No, Tikki, we don’t need any extra time.”

She abandoned whatever modesty she had and scrambled around the apartment trying to find her clothes, which had somehow ended up scattered from one end of the room to the other.

Unfortunately, her shirt was nowhere to be seen.

“Tikki, do you see my blouse?” Marinette asked, holding her arm over her breasts for cover and giving up on trying to be discreet in her search.

The kwami started darting across the room looking, and Chloé came out of her closet.

“Do you need to borrow a shirt, Mari?” she asked, putting on her best innocent expression as she stood there wearing a white tee shirt with pink lettering, that Marinette suspected might have been intended for a child and not a full-grown woman since it left about three-quarters of Chloé’s toned stomach exposed. The blonde wasn’t wearing another stitch of clothing, not even underwear, which was… definitely distracting.

“Did you forget something, Chloé?” Marinette asked acerbically as she fumbled with her bra which she had just managed to retrieve from one of the ceiling fan’s blades by standing on the bed and hopping. She had told Chloé not to toss her bra like that, but had she listened? No. No, she had not.

“Hm?” Chloé said, feigning ignorance, though her grin gave her away.

“Like… Oh, I don’t know… pants? Or call me crazy but maybe underwear?” Marinette replied, arching an eyebrow at the blonde and finally getting her fingers to work well enough to clasp the bra.

“Oh, pants!” Chloé said, feigning surprise and holding up what Marinette had first thought was a small washcloth. “You mean these?”

Marinette’s mouth went dry. “Wh-what are those?” she asked, not sure if her resolve to “keep things professional” would survive the answer.

“Just pajama shorts,” Chloé said, biting her bottom lip and looking at Marinette through hooded eyes.

“Just pajama shorts?” Marinette asked, weakly. That lip bite should be illegal.

“Yes, just pajama shorts,” Chloé responded, coyly. “I seem to recall last night you mentioning you like my legs, and I thought you might like to watch me put these on as a reward for your efforts.”

“Efforts…” Marinette repeated absently, transfixed as Chloé twirled the thin strip of fabric on a finger. She had indeed mentioned to Chloé last night that she admired her legs… if by “mentioned” one meant Marinette reverently saying that someone should be commissioned to write a book of poetry dedicated to Chloé’s legs while the blonde wrapped those very same legs around Marinette’s waist and…

Marinette shook herself, trying to get a grip, and she noticed that Chloé had turned a shade of pink nearly matching the color of the words on her shirt.

Chloé was quick to recover, though, giving Marinette a seductive wink as she slowly pulled the pink-trimmed, white shorts along her legs before letting the stretchy band snap against her waist. Marinette had never been a fan of so-called “booty shorts,” but now she was strongly inclined to reconsider her position.

Tikki flew between the two, snapping Marinette out of the trance she had fallen into.

“I found your shirt, Marinette,” the kwami said happily as she hovered. “It’s under the couch.”

“Oh,” Marinette said absently as she tried to catch her breath.

“Marinette,” Tikki asked, gently. “Why is the couch knocked over?”

The brunette winced, closing her eyes. She could hear Chloé cackle with amusement.

“The couch is knocked over, Tikki,” Chloé answered gleefully. “Because Mari is a very **enthusiastic** girl.”

Marinette groaned as she walked over to tug her shirt out from under the upturned couch.

She slipped her arms through the sleeves before turning back to the kwami and her girlfriend while buttoning up her blouse. Thankfully, the buttons hadn’t been torn off.

Chloé was lounging on the bed, propped on one arm and very obviously enjoying watching Marinette get dressed.

Tikki for her part was very patiently waiting on Marinette to finish.

“So,” Marinette began. “Are you going to tell us what exactly happened here, Tikki?”

The kwami looked around the room. “I think what happened here is pretty obvious, Marinette.”

Marinette went crimson and Chloé laughed so hard, she ended up burying her face in a pillow to keep the noise down. 

“Ha. Ha,” Marinette said finally as she glared daggers at the kwami. “You know what I mean. What’s going on with the supernatural mind link thing?”

“Ooh, yes!” Chloé said, flipping to lay on her stomach. She tented her fingers and rested her head on the back of them. “I love origin stories!”

Marinette scoffed as she walked back to the bed and sat beside Chloé. “You are such a nerd,” she said.

Chloé stuck her tongue out. “Manga is a respected art form… and if you tell anyone I read manga, I’m cutting you off.”

Marinette ran a finger up Chloé’s bare arm from her wrist all the way to her shoulder, drawing out a shuddering breath from the blonde.

“Oh, really?” Marinette asked, her voice a husky whisper.

Chloé rolled her eyes like she didn’t take Marinette seriously, but her voice was shaky as she replied, “Okay, maybe not.”

Tikki landed and said, “What do you want to know?”

“So what is this exactly?” Marinette asked, waving her hands back and forth between herself and Chloé.

“We kwami call it the Bond.”

Marinette and Chloé gave the kwami their undivided attention, so Tikki continued, “It’s… well, it’s a mystical connection. Two souls forged into one in a sense.”

“Is it permanent?” Chloé asked, knitting her brow. “That sounds permanent.”

“Would you mind it being permanent, Chloé?” Marinette asked, trying and failing to keep fear out of her voice. If Chloé didn’t want this…

“No,” Chloé said, firmly. “I don’t mind. I don’t want you to feel… trapped is all.”

Marinette stroked Chloé’s hair. “Best trap ever.”

Chloé’s response was a small, earnest smile, which caused Marinette’s heart to skip a beat or two.

“It’s sort of permanent,” Tikki answered.

Both girls arched matching eyebrows as they turned their attention again to the kwami.

Tikki chuckled and said, “The Bond is coming along nicely if your reactions are matching up this well this soon.”

“What does that mean?” Marinette asked.

“The more in synch you are, the stronger the bond. The stronger the bond, the more power you’ll have as Ladybug.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Chloé said brightly. “So she gets an advantage over akumas out of this?”

The kwami nodded.

“Okay, but how about we get back to what you mean by ‘sort of permanent,’ Tikki?” Marinette asked.

“It means that there are a couple of things that could break your bond. Death, of course, would be the obvious one,” Tikki said with a frown. “But I think it’s safe to say we’re going to avoid that if we can. The other is when you pass on the mantle of Ladybug, Marinette. Then the two of you can decide if you want to end the Bond at that point.”

“Oh,” Chloé said, unsure. “Well at least you have an out at some point, Marinette.”

Marinette pressed a kiss to the blonde’s temple. “I don’t want an out, Chloé. I’m **kind of** in love with you, and that was true before any mind-whammy.”

Chloé coughed, her embarrassment plain to see. “So, Tikki, I can feel what Marinette is feeling and she can feel what I’m feeling, and she gets a power boost as Ladybug. Is that all? Do I get powers? Can we communicate telepathically or anything like that?”

“Tele-what now?” Marinette asked, smirking.

Chloé playfully glared at Marinette. “Communication by thought.”

The brunette leaned to Chloé’s ear and stage whispered, “Nerd.”

Chloé swatted at Marinette, who fell back giggling.

“No, to both questions,” Tikki answered. “At least, that’s never happened before with the Bond.”

Marinette sat up with narrowed eyes. “That sounds like unexpected things **could** happen.”

Tikki shrugged. “It’s magic. Sometimes it doesn’t behave the same way it has in the past, but I don’t think you’ll be able to do any of that, unless a circle of kwami were to ritually amplify the Bond.”

The kwami held up her hand to forestall any questions as she continued grimly, “And I don’t think we’re going to try that again. The one time we did, it… didn’t go well. Not well at all.”

Both girls paled. Marinette had never heard Tikki sound so distraught.

“What do you mean?” Chloé asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

“Humans are built differently than we kwami are. I mean, you have all these chemicals running through your bodies and such. Kwami are… Well, we’re manifested spiritual energy. Nothing more and nothing less.

“So it’s different. Fiddling around with your bodies and souls isn’t the same as it is with us. Working magic on a kwami is more stable… more predictable.” The kwami shrugged, seemingly unable to explain it any better.

“Tikki,” Marinette began, concern lacing her voice. “What actually happened when you amplified the bond?”

Tikki cut her eyes to the side, but Marinette wasn’t letting this go.

“Tikki,” she began warningly before the kwami looked at her sadly and continued.

“They became stuck in each other’s heads. Neither of them could figure out where one of them ended and the other began, or which memory was whose,” Tikki admitted. “And then they went insane.”

“Insane,” Chloé said, quietly.

“That’s why we don’t experiment with the Bond,” Tikki responded soberly.

“Why would you create something so potentially dangerous?” Marinette asked, horrified.

“We didn’t **know** it was dangerous, Marinette,” Tikki answered with a pleading look in her eyes.

“A couple of millennia ago,” she continued. “We saw that the forces of what we kwami call ‘entropy’ seemed to be growing stronger in response to the Miraculous Bearers, so we created the Bond to help the Bearers and keep them safe. Nooroo’s Bearer, the Hawk Moth, already does this. His Bearer creates and uses Bonds to inspire others, and we worked out a way to specifically Bind the souls of the Ladybug and the Chat Noir because humans gain strength when they’re connected to other humans. It’s why the Miraculous seeks out Bearers who are compatible for those two. If they’re already prone to falling in love, then the Bond is less likely to do something unpredictable.”

Chloé went rigid, her eyes glued to the kwami. She looked like she might be sick, and she was visibly shaking.

Marinette rubbed small, soothing circles on her girlfriend’s back. “What’s wrong, Chloé?”

Chloé sat up and hugged Marinette with tears in her eyes before burying her face in Marinette’s neck and quietly saying, “You’re not supposed to be bonded to me, are you? It’s supposed to be Chat Noir.”

“No, Chloé, that’s not how it works!” Tikki rushed to reassure the blonde. “I didn’t mean to upset you!”

Both women turned to face Tikki again while Marinette stroked Chloé’s hair.

“This isn’t something that can be forced,” Tikki went on. “It’s not predetermined. There’s no such thing as ‘fated love.’ Creating the Bond has to be a choice… an active choice on the part of a Bearer.”

“And I chose **you** , Chloé,” Marinette continued where Tikki left off. “And I will always choose you every time.”

Chloé sniffed and nodded. “Sorry, it’s just that if this is important for you as Ladybug, Mari, then I don’t **care** if it’s me or someone else. I only want you to be safe.”

Marinette tightened her embrace and said fiercely, “ **I** care that it’s you. You’re the one I choose.”

Tikki nodded. “And that matters, Chloé. The strongest bonds are the ones that are chosen willingly and without pressure.”

Chloé released one hand and began tapping her fingers on her knee, and Marinette enclosed Chloé’s hand with hers and pulled it back into the hug.

“It’s okay, Chloé,” the brunette murmured reassuringly. “It’s okay.”

Tikki flew up and sat on Marinette’s shoulder facing Chloé before saying, “I can see how much you care for Marinette, Chloé. She’ll draw strength from the Bond as it matures.”

Chloé tilted her head back to better see Tikki and asked, “Matures?” She did not loosen her grip, though, which was fine by Marinette.

“Yes,” Tikki said. “Right now it’s very… um… unsettled is the best way to put it. You’ve probably noticed that your emotions are heightened right now? That you feel things more strongly?”

When both girls nodded vigorously, Tikki smiled. “And it will be like that for a while. One bearer described it to me as being finally able to scratch an itch that you never knew existed until after you started scratching.”

“How long is ‘a while,’ Tikki?” Marinette asked. “And are you saying the bond will fade?”

“Not fade,” Tikki said, shaking her head. “In fact it will be stronger and clearer, but it will also be less overwhelming. The Bond usually takes a few weeks to mature, but… um… your Bond is surprisingly strong already. I can see the magic linking you, and I’ve never seen it this vibrant this quickly. That might mean that it will mature more quickly, or maybe the strength of it means that it will be very strong in the end, but will take longer to mature. It’s really hard to say.”

Marinette wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.

Chloé, on the other hand, looked pensive. “So, that’s why every time I look at Marinette, I want to… well, jump on her and make out.”

That pulled a nervous laugh from Marinette. “Yeah, I kind of feel the same way.”

“Yes,” Tikki said with a dissatisfied frown. “I sometimes regret we chose sex as the way to consummate the bond, but it seemed so important to so many of your human rituals—less so these days—but this was a long time ago.”

Seeing the rather nonplussed look on both girls’ faces, Tikki shrugged. “I mean, it was better than ritual human sacrifice.”

Two jaws dropped simultaneously.

“Which I would **never** have agreed to, by the way,” Tikki said firmly and quickly. “Sex seems to work fine, though. It’s just not always convenient for the bearer and her chosen for that first few weeks.”

“We’ll manage somehow,” Chloé said wryly.

“I can see that,” Tikki said wryly, looking around the disheveled room. “You’ll probably have these urges every hour or two until the maturation process finishes, and then you’ll be better able to control yourselves.”

“Great,” Marinette sighed and closed her eyes. “School is going to be impossible.”

“We could skip,” Chloé offered, sounding hopeful.

Marinette snapped her eyes open and asked sharply, “For several weeks? And Tikki just said this is a stronger bond than she’s ever seen. What if it takes months? Or years?”

“I’ll die happy then,” Chloé said smugly. Marinette found it hard to dispute the sentiment, but she didn’t want both their lives disrupted because they couldn’t keep it in their pants, so to speak.

“If it helps,” Tikki interrupted. “Adrenaline seems to suppress the urge to mate for a while.”

“Awesome,” Marinette deadpanned. “And never use the phrase ‘urge to mate’ again, please?” 

She let go of Chloé and fell back onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling. “So we can just have someone jump out and scare us every few minutes, or Chloé can resume her career as an akuma generator. Problem solved!”

Chloé scoffed and then was suddenly looming over Marinette, surprising her. The blonde kissed her neck, sucking sharply at the delicate skin just below her jaw, drawing a whimper from the brunette.

“Is being unable to resist my amazing charms really a problem for you, Mari?” Chloé asked in between nibbles of her girlfriend’s earlobe.

“What do you suggest?” Marinette asked when she caught her breath. “Just jump in the supply closet for a quickie?”

“I was thinking we could try the girls’ shower,” Chloé replied.

Marinette pulled back from Chloé and stared at her incredulously. “Oh my god, you’re serious.”

Chloé shrugged and did that lip bite thing that seemed to derail any higher brain functions that Marinette possessed, and all Marinette could do was imagine Chloé’s naked body glistening in the shower as the water darkened her hair while ringlets clung to Chloé’s neck and face. Cold air blew through the locker room causing goose pimples to break out over Chloé’s entire body, and the blonde suppressed an urge to shiver despite the heat and steam from the water raining down on her. Slowly, her hands moved to cover her breasts and unbidden, Chloé’s fingers began to massage and caress her nipples, which stiffened and—and Marinette brought that line of thought to an immediate halt before she marched Chloé straight to the bathroom to test these theories out.

“The stalls have doors that close, Marinette,” the blonde stated simply, pulling the brunette out of her reverie. She fell onto the bed beside Marinette and continued, “Although you do have a point, in that you’re not very quiet.”

Marinette thought her face might be on fire at this point. “Chloé! Not in front of Tikki!”

Tikki sighed. “Again, Marinette, I’m an immortal spirit from the dawn of time, and the Bond has existed for more than two thousand years. This isn’t anything new.”

“Well, it’s new to me, Tikki,” Marinette said crossly, and then a thought occurred to her. “Uh, speaking of news, Tikki, should I tell Chat Noir about this?”

“Better you than his kwami,” Tikki answered honestly.

“What does that mean?” Marinette asked curiously. Chloé hummed in agreement with Marinette’s question.

“Plagg—that’s Chat Noir’s kwami, Chloé—wasn’t very happy about this.”

Chloé raised an eyebrow. “Why not? And how does he know?”

“He knows because I called a convocation yesterday to announce Marinette’s Bond to you. It’s traditional for us to gather when important events occur, and this is as important as a kwami finding a Bearer.

“As for why he’s angry, I can’t answer that, Chloé. It would betray a confidence.”

“Oh, please. It’s because Chat Noir’s in love with Ladybug,” Chloé scoffed. Marinette could feel the worry churning inside the blonde despite her outwardly confident appearance.

Tikki shrugged, seeming to confirm Chloé’s assertion, and Marinette blanched.

“Don’t be silly,” the brunette insisted. “Chat’s not in love with me.”

Her girlfriend and her kwami both stared at her, expressions flat and eyebrows raised.

“Seriously, he’s not,” Marinette continued. “He jokes about his undying love. I snark at him. It’s our thing. He’s a tease, but he’s just playing. He’s not in love with me. It’s impossible. You can’t fall in love with someone if you don’t even know their real name. We even joke about the newspaper articles always gushing about our ‘epic romance.’” 

She realized she had started a nervous ramble and clamped her mouth shut. There was no use arguing about something so preposterous.

“You… you think he’s only kidding about having feelings for you?” Tikki asked, surprised.

“Well,” Marinette explained, making sure to keep a calm, steady voice. “We’re partners, but we lead completely separate lives. He doesn’t know my name or where I live or what my dreams are. We might spend half an hour together per day at most, and we don’t even see each other every day. It’s impossible to truly love someone unless you know them, and not just through bantering with each other while you punch akumas.”

“I don’t think that’s true, Marinette. He’s plainly in love with you,” Chloé said. “He’s head over heels for you or whatever cliché you want to use.”

Marinette groaned. “If he’s so in love with me, then why did he never make a move even after we kissed?”

The blazing spike of furious jealousy emanating from her girlfriend startled Marinette. If emotions were tangible, the air around Chloé would have burst into flame.

“What do you mean ‘after we kissed?’” Chloé asked, her voice saturated with menace.

Suddenly very nervous, Marinette held her hands up defensively and quickly explained, “Well, it was to break an akuma’s spell, but Chat never pursued me after. That’s proof he’s not really interested.”

Chloé looked unconvinced to say the least.

Marinette turned to Tikki, hoping for an ally in the argument. Tikki had remained very quiet as Marinette and Chloé debated, and Marinette noticed she was obviously uncomfortable.

“What is it, Tikki?” Marinette asked the kwami, dreading the answer.

“He didn’t remember the kiss, Marinette,” the kwami said, sheepishly.

“I know that, Tikki,” Marinette countered, feeling relieved that was what worried the kwami. “But a few months later, we talked and I explained what happened. He laughed about it, made some jokes, and thanked me. He said his only regret was he couldn’t remember, and I should keep him in mind for future kissing opportunities, but there’s no way he was serious.”

Now it was Tikki’s turn to look unconvinced. Chloé settled for looking livid.

Marinette decided her priority was her girlfriend, who happened to occasionally overreact when she felt provoked. Chloé had a great track record of zero akumas created the past few months, and Marinette wanted to keep the streak going.

“Chloé,” she said gently. “I only kissed him because… well, remember when Kim asked you out and… um…”

Chloé avoided her gaze, looking embarrassed as realization dawned. “Oh. Right. Dark Cupid.”

Marinette used a finger to guide Chloé’s chin until they were facing each other. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss.

“I kissed Chat Noir to break a spell, not because I was in love with him. I’m only interested in kissing one woman and no one else, Chloé.”

Chloé pouted, making a show of considering Marinette’s words before saying, “Fine. But you need to kiss me again, so I can be sure.”

Chuckling, Marinette complied and kissed Chloé deeply until she felt the blonde relax against her.

“You can’t blame me for being jealous, Marinette,” Chloé said. “I have a super-hot girlfriend, and like nearly the entire class has had a crush on you or Ladybug or both at one point or another.”

“You’re exaggerating, Chloé.”

“You’re oblivious, Marinette… but it’s cute.”

Sighing, Marinette dropped the argument. It wasn’t really worth it since she had who she wanted. 

“Okay,” Marinette said. “Either way, I should talk to him before an akuma attacks or something.”

She was not looking forward to the conversation now, but putting it off seemed like a bad idea. Leaning over to Chloé, Marinette kissed her again.

“Are you okay with that?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah,” Chloé answered, nuzzling into Marinette’s neck. “I’m maybe a little jealous, but it’s only because he’s such a good guy, and I can admit he’s pretty in that skintight spandex.” She pulled back and sighed dramatically. “I suppose he deserves to hear about this from his partner, though.”

Marinette giggled and stood. “Spots on, Tikki!”

After she transformed, she squeezed Chloé’s hand and said, “I should check in at home after I talk to Chat. Will you be okay?”

Chloé smiled deviously, in a way that reminded Marinette of all the times the blonde had plotted someone’s downfall in the past.

“Oh, I’ve got some errands to do myself,” she said.

“Okay...” Marinette said slowly.

“Just trust me!” Chloé said and playfully slapped Marinette on the butt. “Now go and make sure your alley cat is okay.”

“Fine,” the brunette responded with mock exasperation as she checked out the window to make sure the coast was clear. “I’ll call after.”

And with that she was off. She called Chat while she sprinted along the rooftops and asked him to meet her at the Tower. He sounded a bit under the weather, but agreed to meet. 

By the time she arrived at the Eiffel Tower, Marinette had convinced herself this was going to work out just fine. He was definitely **not** in love with her. That was ridiculous. Tikki and Chloé were totally misreading Chat’s banter. 

They were going to talk, and it would be fine. Chat would be thrilled for her. Heck, he would probably be as excited that Marinette had a girlfriend as she was herself, and Marinette would end up annoyed at all the lewd comments he would make.

Yes, this was right. This was going to work out fine.

Shortly after Chat arrived, Marinette was forced to revise her expectations. It was anything but fine.

No, it was painfully awkward and uncomfortable, because guess what? Tikki and Chloé had been right! Chat Noir was evidently in love with Ladybug and had been for years! Who knew?! Well… besides Tikki and Chloé. They knew. Marinette certainly hadn’t known. 

She had to give him credit, though. Chat didn’t **try** to make it uncomfortable. Actually, he handled it better than Marinette felt she might have if the situation were reversed, and she had been in love with Chat Noir yet hadn’t had bothered to ever tell him like any sane person who wanted a relationship would instead of repeatedly playing it off like being attracted to her was the funniest thing that had ever happened.

But yeah, he deserved all the credit for how he handled the news. He was gracious and caring and so… sad. And resigned. And trying to put on a brave face. But mostly just sad.

The two partners sat and talked for a while. Marinette was careful not to give away Chloé’s identity, although Chat now knew her lover was a “she.” It wasn’t that she mistrusted Chat, but keeping Chloé safe was the most important thing. Afterward, Chat asked if he could go on patrol by himself for the day, and he assured Marinette that he valued her as a partner and that he would absolutely call her if he ran into trouble.

Chat left, and Marinette stayed there with her feet dangling off the Tower watching the pedestrians and tourists below, imagining what they might do in their lives and wondering if their lives were as complicated as hers had become.

She hated that Chat was hurt, but misleading him would have only hurt him more in the long run.

Finally, she decided that she should go home. She checked her phone and it was already past noon. Her parents hadn’t called, but she didn’t want to push her luck after her near-grounding the day before. Was it just yesterday that they’d reprimanded her for staying so late at Chloé’s hotel? It felt like it had been at least a week.

Landing near the bakery, Marinette cast off her transformation, listened to Tikki’s well-earned “I told you so!” after relaying the conversation and then stopped in surprise as she approached the front door. She was puzzled by the sight of what looked like an army of delivery men leaving the bakery followed by a striking redhead, who might have been the most put-together woman Marinette had ever seen in her life.

The redhead flashed her a smile as she passed, and Marinette stood there puzzled for several moments before going inside.

She called out to her parents as she came through the front door.

“Maman! Papa! I’m home!” she said as she made her way to the kitchen where she found her parents working. “What’s going on?”

“Not much,” her maman said with a smile. “We’re prepping an order for tomorrow.”

“Did someone get a delivery?”

“Oh, yes,” Maman laughed. “A woman stopped in and said there were packages for you. Chloé called and asked if it was okay if they dropped your order in your room. I hope it’s okay that we let them go up unsupervised.”

Marinette stopped and looked puzzled. “I didn’t order anything.”

Papa clapped a hand on her shoulder and said, “Must be a surprise from your girlfriend.”

“And she’s coming over for dinner tonight,” Maman added. “I insisted.”

“Okay… um… I should probably check and see what she’s sent over,” Marinette replied. “Thanks for inviting her for dinner. It really means a lot to me how great you guys are about this.”

“I think she’s sweet,” Maman said, chuckling. “And I’m just glad to see you happy.”

Papa nodded sagely, “Plus she’s handy in the bakery.”

“I’ll let her know that!” Marinette said, smirking. “Okay, I’m heading upstairs.”

Inside her room, there was barely room for Marinette to walk. There were piles of packages on the floor and maybe three dozen suit bags stacked on her bed. 

She had a sinking feeling. Chloé had been dropping not-very-subtle hints the past few weeks about Marinette needing to “upgrade her wardrobe to match her new lifestyle as Chloé’s friend,” and it looked like she had decided to take matters into her own hands now that she was much more than just Chloé’s friend.

On top of the bags was a note from Chloé saying that she had burned the receipts, so there was no use trying to return anything. Marinette unzipped several bags to find stunning dresses for different occasions, and she opened boxes to find shoes and beauty supplies.

The annoying part was how perfect everything was for her. Chloé had superb taste. Somehow it was all even tailored to Marinette’s exact size.

Tikki hopped out of Marinette’s bag and flew over to sit on Marinette’s desk.

“Wow,” the kwami said, wide-eyed.

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed. “That pretty much sums up my reaction, too.”

She had discovered since first becoming Chloé’s friend (and now girlfriend) that Chloé had a very different understanding of the value of money than… well… anyone else that Marinette had ever met. It wasn’t that her girlfriend didn’t understand how money worked or thought it was somehow infinite. She simply didn’t consider it something with value in and of itself.

Chloé believed that nice things made people happy. Therefore, the more “nice things” a person had, the happier they would be. Since “nice things” cost money, having and spending money was nothing more than a means to being happy. The amount of money necessary to pay for something Chloé classified as a “nice thing” was only relevant because high prices impressed people—as if it was the most obvious thing in the world that impressing people was at least as important if not more so than being happy. That discussion, which Marinette had since mentally classified as “Chloé Bourgeois’ Philosophy on Nice Things,” had been eye-opening to say the least.

They had ended up debating for hours, and at one point, Marinette had used that old cliché about money not buying happiness. Chloé had looked at her like she was an alien, and she had said she didn’t understand what else you could possibly buy happiness with. Eventually Marinette had accepted that this was one of those few subjects that Chloé just didn’t see the way most everyone else did, and she had come to understand over time that Chloé truly wasn’t trying to buy her affection. The girl simply didn’t understand happiness without her “nice things.”

Of course, that was also the discussion in which Marinette had found out about Chloé’s inheritance. It turned out that Chloé’s mother, not the mayor, had been the truly wealthy one. She had left her daughter a trust so large it made Marinette feel numb when Chloé had told her how much was in it, and Chloé had full access to her full inheritance once she turned sixteen, which was why—and Marinette had felt ashamed that she hadn’t noticed before—she hadn’t heard Chloé talk about having her papa buy her things for the last two years.

“Marinette, are you alright?” Tikki asked, breaking her out of her reminiscence.

“Sure,” Marinette said with a reassuring smile. “I’m trying to figure out how to not hurt Chloé’s feelings while convincing her I don’t need an entire new wardrobe every season.”

“Good luck with that,” the kwami replied. She sounded dubious that Marinette would win that argument, and Marinette agreed.

Marinette pulled a pair of exquisite black pumps from a box, and a thoughtful frown settled on her face.

“Tikki,” she asked. “Do you have any idea why Chloé always buys me the tallest heels she can find?”

Tikki shrugged. “No idea. Why don’t you ask her?”

Marinette nodded and filed away the question for later. Right now, she had something else she wanted to discuss with Tikki.

“You weren’t surprised yesterday, were you?” she asked the kwami. “That this bond thing happened between Chloé and me.”

Tikki shook her head.

“When did you know?” Marinette continued.

Tikki looked at her with a serious expression. “Do you remember the day you told me you thought your heart would be torn in half if you didn’t tell Chloé your secret?”

“Really? That’s when you knew?”

Tikki smiled. “I strongly suspected when you said that. You were so determined. I didn’t know for sure until after we talked with Chloé.”

“Why?”

The kwami paused as if she were searching for a way to explain it that Marinette would understand. Finally, she said, “For most Ladybugs, they witness the courage of their Chat Noir, and… well… you have to keep in mind that Bearers are chosen as youths since vitality and strength are important traits for the fight against evil. But when you put young humans with attractive, physically fit bodies and you add in all the hormones…”

“Ugh,” Marinette responded, disgusted.

Tikki sighed. “It’s a tough job, Marinette, and it’s always been true that danger draws people together.”

Marinette shrugged. She still thought it was kind of skeevy.

“Anyway,” Tikki continued. “I thought seeing how brave and attractive Chat Noir was would… **intrigue** you.”

Disgust had been replaced by abject horror. “‘Intrigue?!’ You mean make me feel excited, right? Like sexually? Did you think I was going to see him jumping around fighting akumas being funny and brave and… What? I would peel him out of that catsuit and fu—have my way with him?!”

The kwami looked at her, unimpressed. “For thousands upon thousands of years, Marinette, that is **exactly** what has happened. Seven times—Correction, now eight times—something else has happened. In certain ways, humans are **very** predictable.”

“I guess it might have worked if Adrien hadn’t been in the picture,” Marinette conceded.

Tikki made a grunting, noncommittal noise that puzzled Marinette. What was the kwami hiding?

She stared at the kwami who avoided her gaze. That’s when it hit Marinette. The truth had been staring her in the face all along and she had never seen it!

“Wait a minute,” Marinette exclaimed. “Is that why the suits are so skin tight? Just in case we might not notice the partner you chose for us, you need to make sure we get a good look at what’s being offered? You need us to… to… to do **that** so much that you just... pull out all the stops?”

“No,” Tikki said, pursing her lips and cut her eyes to the side.

It was the most obvious lie Marinette had heard since before Chloé decided to try and change her ways.

Marinette simply stared at the kwami with her mouth set in a grim line.

“Maybe it’s part of it,” Tikki admitted.

“Wow,” Marinette said, rubbing her temples. “I feel so manipulated right now.”

“I got outvoted, Marinette, by the other kwami,” Tikki snapped. She was actually mad, which was very rare. Marinette had only seen it a handful of times.

“Wait, they can do that?” Marinette was dumbfounded. “Just vote and suddenly we’re in suits leaving almost nothing to the imagination?”

Tikki stewed for a couple of minutes before finally replying, “At least you didn’t end up mostly nude. The others knew not to push it too far or I would have… Well, I’m not sure what I would have done, but it wouldn’t have been very nice.”

“I’m sorry, Tikki, and thanks,” Marinette said and reached out to pet the kwami’s shoulder. “I mean it. It’s nice to know you’re looking out for me.”

Tikki shrugged. “You deserve to be trusted and respected. I couldn’t do this otherwise. It’s… it’s already so hard sending you into danger. But asking me to take away your choices… pushing you in one direction then another… it’s too much to ask. I could never do it.”

For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, grateful for each other.

“Anyway,” Tikki said breaking the awkward quiet that had settled in the room. “You didn’t ‘peel him out of his catsuit,’ as you put it. Instead, you ended up through no fault of your own stuck with someone you thought was irredeemable, and then that person did the unthinkable. She put you first. Chloé put you and your needs before anyone else, and when you saw how badly she wanted to protect you and your secret—especially because you spent so many years thinking she was incapable of being selfless—and I think maybe that you started falling for her in that instant.”

Marinette sat quietly for a few minutes thinking about what Tikki had said. “You’re right. I don’t think I could help falling for her, but it still doesn’t make sense, Tikki, why you suspected the day I insisted on telling her. It was only because I was so determined?”

“No,” Tikki answered. “You’ve always been a determined person, but I’ve known you for years now, Marinette, and you were always so insistent on the rule about keeping your identity secret to protect people around you. That day, though, you were determined to open up to Chloé no matter what I said and no matter what rules you broke. Your connection to her had become so strong that your faith in her was absolute.

“The Bond works through connection. Humans don’t do well in isolation, and we counted on that when we made the Miraculous, and also when we later created the Bond. Every connection is like a mystical string, and the greater the amount of love that’s put through that mystical string, then the greater the chance the magic that sparks the Bond will ignite… magically speaking that is.

“Chloé’s love may have begun the ritual, but the feelings you were developing for Chloé kept that spark alive, and the connection kept growing. The Bond started forming naturally, and that pushed the two of you together until you were at the point of no return where you would officially Bond or the attraction would dim until the spark went out,” Tikki finished quietly.

“You think she already loved me?” Marinette blinked, surprised.

“If I had to guess, I would say she’s been attracted to you for a long time. Maybe even since she first met you,” Tikki replied.

The idea that Chloé had harbored feelings for her, maybe even for years, made a very small part of her feel unsettled but mostly it made her feel rather… pleased with herself.

“You would really have to confirm it with her, though,” Tikki said, interrupting her minor ego trip. “But yes, my suspicion is she had been fighting very deep feelings for you for a long time. Call it love or admiration or simple attraction, but it’s all connection. The night of that party at the Louvre when you were there for Chloé in a way no one had ever been… knowing what we know about her and her past, I’m not sure how she could resist falling in love with you after that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” she asked.

Tikki gave a short, sharp laugh. “Would you choose differently if you had it to do over?”

Marinette shook her head. “No, never. This is right. I know it in my heart.”

Tikki smiled and shrugged. “That’s why. If I told you, then you might have panicked and made a choice out of fear. You had spent so many years dreaming of a future with Adrien… Can you say you wouldn’t have tried to force the Bond with him?”

Marinette considered that before answering. “I had even picked out the names of our children,” she said so quietly she could barely hear herself speaking.

The kwami chuckled. “That’s what I mean. Your attraction to him is real, but I don’t believe that trying to force the Bond can ever be a good thing. It has to be a choice, and that choice needs to be as free from interference as possible, otherwise, what’s the point?”

Marinette returned to looking through the packages while she wondered how things might have been. No matter how many times she went through the scenarios, she couldn’t imagine being happier than she was now.

“I miss Chloé,” she admitted. “It’s only been… What? Three hours? And I miss her so much already.”

“I’m not surprised,” Tikki responded. “Why don’t you call her?”

“Shouldn’t I let her rest?”

“Hm,” Tikki said, tapping her chin in thought. “Why not concentrate for a moment and see how she feels?”

“What? Oh, I… guess I can do that now, can’t I?” Marinette answered. This still felt weird. Closing her eyes, she focused on the constant presence in her mind that she now recognized as Chloé.

Her girlfriend missed her, too. And she was turned on the moment she realized Marinette was focusing on her… possibly because Marinette was also getting excited thinking about Chloé.

Marinette opened her eyes, retrieved her phone, and called her girlfriend before the sensations rebounding between them got completely out of hand. Tikki flew out to the balcony to give her some privacy.

“So…” Marinette said once Chloé picked up. She could feel how smug Chloé was from halfway across the city.

“Do you like everything?” Chloé excitedly interrupted.

“Um… I haven’t had time to go through it all, Chloé.”

“Oh, then I’ll come over and you can try things on!”

Marinette laughed nervously. “Am I a dress-up doll for you? Is that what this is?”

“No! But seeing you in all the pretty outfits is a huge perk!” the blonde replied happily.

“Do I want to know how much all of this cost?” Marinette asked, maneuvering suit bags until she had room to sit on the bed.

“Probably not.”

“Thank you for the clothes, Chloé,” Marinette said, knowing arguing wouldn’t get her anywhere.

“I look forward to seeing you try everything on,” Chloé said softly. “That’s all the thanks I need.”

“And I’m really looking forward to your reactions when I’m trying everything on,” Marinette replied just as softly. “So when are you coming over?”

“I’m in the lobby now, just waiting on my driver,” Chloé responded, suddenly sounding nervous. “Unless you need some time apart? I don’t want to be clingy.”

“I can’t wait to see you,” Marinette said, feeling Chloé’s relief wash through her, and Marinette realized she was grinning like a madwoman. She hoped this feeling never went away.

“I’ll be there soon, Mari,” Chloé said and Marinette could tell she felt just as giddy.

“Chloé, before you hang up…”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure about school tomorrow? We don’t have to tell anyone anything if you need time.”

Chloé took a moment before responding. “I think I’m ready, but we should tell Alya and Sabrina first that we’re dating. Sabrina’s my only real friend other than you and Adrien, and I know how much Alya matters to you. I think they deserve to hear it from us directly.”

Marinette hummed in agreement. “That’s a good idea.”

“Okay, the driver is here. I’ll see you soon!”

“I love you!”

“I love you, too, Mari!”

Marinette sat her phone down on the bed in the small space she had liberated from suit bags. A few months ago, she would have been nervous and scared and furious that Chloé had spent any money on her at all, let alone whatever staggering amount Chloé had spent today, but now… Now it was just something she had to get used to. It was how Chloé showed she cared.

She got up to go warn her maman about the mess. Marinette might be adjusting to life dating an obscenely wealthy heiress, but her parents hadn’t had much time to get used to the idea.

As she left the room, she looked at all the stuff and realized she had no idea where she would put all of it, but decided she and Chloé would figure it out together.

Marinette smiled softly and clicked off the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I get started, I want to say I've been really enjoying fic, Astrangetypeofchemistry's [Chloè Bourgeois's Guide To Proving The Class Rep Isn't A Selfless Angel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9245813/chapters/20963507). It's a fun story that bacta_junkie, who gives insightful comments here and on other stories, is the beta reader for. They're doing a great job with this tiny ship! :)
> 
> Also, if you've never listened to [Unstoppable by Lianne La Havas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFic-xaLsPs), she's pretty darn great, and I really feel that song captures the essence of this romance!
> 
> So... two things about Chapter 2...
> 
> First, I love this chapter.
> 
> I love the humor. I love the core relationship, and I feel I'm doing a decent job of capturing their dynamic and showing why they are in love. I love Tikki and her mix of wisdom and patience. I think the chapter is funny and hopefully poignant at the right times. This is also possibly the fluffiest chapter I've ever written, which is a good sign I'm not exactly constructed to write fluff, but I'll give it my best effort!
> 
> Second, I hate this chapter.
> 
> I hate how long it is. I hate that it might have teetered over into an exposition dump even though I knew I had to get the mechanics of what the Bond is and what it does precisely and more importantly the **why** of the Bond out there. It's incredibly important in that it informs much of what will happen for the next couple dozen chapters or so, and I already dragged it out over two chapters when you include the last chapter of the first story plus that story's dream sequence in Chapter 8 plus the implied parts of Chapter 9... and it got a mention in Chapter 1 of this story since Adrien needed to be informed of the state of affairs. So in the end, I'm incredibly disappointed in myself in certain respects. This chapter is over 8,000 words when I think maybe it should have been 6,000 words.
> 
> So on that note, I want you to know if I've damaged the flow of this story with two long chapters, I unreservedly apologize to you, the reader. You've already seen my reasoning for this chapter, but I should mention the reasoning for Chapter 1's length. Adrien deserved the attention. It's as simple as that. His relationship with Chloé deserved attention. His relationship with his father had to at least come into play if not be more fully addressed. His relationship with Ladybug is absolutely key and deserved attention. I needed, or perhaps just wanted very badly, to show that Adrien does have a small circle of friends that do their best to help him through.
> 
> That brings me to the crux of the matter. The first story—and I want to thank the readers for the wonderful reception to that story which just hit 200 kudos recently!—by its very nature needed to be a very private affair. That story required a very inward focus. It was almost exclusively focused on and about Chloé and Marinette because that's what happens when a person falls in love. Everything becomes for a while at least about that person. Eventually—and this story is very much the beginning of "eventually"—the love doesn't lessen, but the world around the people in love expands. This story is very outwardly focused as the new couple introduce themselves to the world and the reader deserves to see how the people in the two young women's lives fit into this new paradigm they have established. This chapter reestablishes Tikki's relationship with the two and the first chapter made an important point of Adrien's relationship with Lila and Nino as well as introducing a major building block of this story, which is the aforementioned childhood friendship between Adrien and Chloé. 
> 
> All I can ask is that if this is a meandering mess, let me know. If it's not a meandering mess, I'd love to hear about that, too! It will help me as I try to figure out how to write an action scene that isn't aggressively bad for once.
> 
> In the end, all I can do is say that I hope you enjoy this chapter and say I'm really looking forward to reactions! 
> 
> Finally, my beta reader and I were wondering if it would be better to post the chapter updates on Mondays. I'm a bit worried that this story's first chapter was buried on page three of new updates during the first day of its existence. I may be worrying over nothing, though. Let me know what you think!


	3. Anything More Than That Would Be Too Much for Us to Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch us—anything more than that would be too much for us to bear.” 
> 
> \- _Bill Russell_ (Date Unknown)
> 
> Song Choice: “Move in the Right Direction” by Gossip

Chloé Bourgeois was a creature of routine, but as she surveyed the jumbled mess they’d made of her home, she was forced to admit that following her old routines might not mix well with dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She hoped she could adjust to that. Already her life was changing quickly and decisively. Tomorrow, she would out herself to her classmates and the world at large, and for once her intentions weren’t to gain an advantage or to push everyone away. 

Maybe for the first time in her life, Chloé was looking forward to letting people in… emphasis on “maybe.”

Marinette had changed her. Her girlfriend—and even thinking of Marinette as her girlfriend filled Chloé with a bizarre urge to stand and do a little dance while squealing like some idiotic pre-teen—would insist that she hadn’t changed anything about Chloé, but had only helped Chloé see that things could be better.

It sounded like Greeting Card Logic, but Marinette had a way of making Chloé want to believe in it. No one was more bewildered by that than Chloé herself.

That didn’t change the fact she was about to walk into seven kinds of hell tomorrow at school, and she was doing it all because she had complete faith in Marinette Dupain-Cheng. If Chloé were to admit that out loud, she was pretty sure everyone who heard would be convinced they had slipped through a crack in reality and landed in another universe like in that one old US television program she had binged on a few months ago. 

Chloé realized abruptly that she’d been pacing in a circle for nearly ten minutes, digging her thumbnails into the tips of her index fingers until they bruised while thinking about how to fix a television program that was canceled more than a decade ago. Marinette was right. Only a nerd would be that upset about a sci-fi television program. Therefore, Chloé was a nerd. 

Dammit. 

She probably shouldn’t have ever tried to argue otherwise anyway. The absurd amount of relief she felt over the fact that she kept all her manga on a bookshelf in the far corner of her room, a good distance away from the many parts of Chloé’s home she and Marinette had enthusiastically “christened” last night, killed any credible argument she might make to the contrary.

Chloé glanced out the window in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Marinette had left about thirty minutes ago, and there was no way Chloé would be able to see her at this point. Still, she felt drawn to keep an eye out just in case.

So… this was love.

It was great. Scary. Annoying at times. But great.

“Okay,” Chloé said to the empty room. “Enough of this getting in touch with my feelings nonsense.”

She surveyed her suite. Calling it a disaster would be too kind. As had been pointed out by Chloé’s favorite kwami this morning, the couch was overturned. Of course, so was the coffee table… and one of the two chairs. The chair that was still standing had a highly visible stain on its rose-colored seat cushion. Chloé was determined to pretend that was white wine and **nothing** else.

Chloé walked over to the coffee table to confirm a suspicion. Yes, there was a crack where one of the legs joined the tabletop. She should have known better than to hold Marinette in her lap while seated on top of it, but there wasn’t any way she would have said no to the offer. In her defense, Marinette had already knocked the couch on its back in an earlier makeout ambush, and that left a definite lack of surfaces to sit on while she and Marinette went at it.

Well, except for the bed and the chairs, she supposed. In their defense, both the bed and the chairs **were** used later. In fact, the only things in the room to escape some rather ambitious sexual endeavors were her bookshelf (because that was like a holy shrine), her vanity (ditto), and the television—although she wasn’t sure it counted since it was mounted on the wall and Chloé wasn’t sure how to have sex on a wall six feet in the air… yet. Give it time and she was sure they would figure out a way, she thought smugly.

The blonde turned the table upright, only for the leg to completely snap, sending the table tilting back to the floor. She wasn’t sure if that was worse than the food and wine scattered over the floor or not. That hadn’t happened when the table was tipped over. No, the barely touched dinner had ended up on the carpet when her seemingly innocent girlfriend found herself in need of a flat surface to lay Chloé onto so she could go down on her. Chloé felt it had been worth the mess, but the cleaning staff might not.

Maybe she could blame the food and wine staining the carpet on the broken table. She supposed she could say that she or Marinette had tripped and… knocked over the couch and a chair and the coffee table.

Maybe the maid would buy that.

Probably not. 

Okay, definitely not, considering the smell.

The air was full of the not-so-delicate aroma of sex. Chloé had noticed that immediately after her shower.

And the hotel staff had just finally started to like her. She wanted to kick something, but decided that adding to the wreckage would be counterproductive.

Okay. What would Marinette do? That was usually good for not alienating people.

It took Chloé less than a heartbeat to decide Marinette would have died of embarrassment the moment she realized that several maids… and probably furniture movers… and carpet cleaners, too, were going to have to deal with the results of last night.

Chloé tried to lift the couch and failed. Turned out sectional sofas were heavy. She also tried to make herself feel a bit less guilty by making note of the fact that the couch was completely Marinette’s fault. Chloé was innocent for once in her life. She had been sitting there enjoying the start of the film she had picked out… and okay maybe fondling Marinette’s knee a bit when the brunette had… well… attacked for lack of a better term.

It was hilarious, on one level. Marinette was like one of those cute, furry animals on a nature show, like a baby lynx or something, just frolicking and looking adorable, but it was all a ruse to lure Chloé into a false sense of security—and that was no exaggeration. Chloé had experienced it firsthand. Chloé had been sitting there totally paying attention to the movie… okay, **sort of** paying attention to the movie but who could blame her when her girlfriend was so damn cute? And before she even knew what was happening, the cute and furry little otter had bared its fangs and unsheathed its claws. Chloé (and the couch) had as much chance as a wounded zebra hobbling along the savannah.

Chloé shrugged. Okay, that metaphor could use work, but give a girl a break. She was exhausted, and that was at least half Marinette’s fault.

There was no getting around it, though. She needed help with the room. Chloé called the front desk and asked for the manager to come up as soon as possible, sincerely reassuring the concierge that she wasn’t mad at anyone or anything. She hoped her burgeoning popularity with the staff meant that they would believe that.

While she waited, Chloé opened the window, hoping that some of the odor might disperse, and she quickly changed into modest pajamas. The skimpy cotton shorts had been for Marinette’s benefit and hers alone. The girl seemed rather taken with Chloé’s legs and butt, which thrilled the blonde. 

Chloé suspected that her legs were Marinette’s favorite part of her body—a sublime warmth spread through her knowing that Marinette found her physically attractive—and she intended to show them off for her girlfriend at every opportunity. 

Looking herself over in her full-length mirror to make sure she was presentable when the manager arrived, Chloé frowned. She was covered well enough, except that these pajamas left little to the imagination when it came to her chest. She almost never went out in public without a restrictive bra. She not only gained a lot of comfort and reassurance from binding herself tightly, but going without a bra (or god forbid, in some sort of push-up bra) made her feel so… on display. And vulnerable. Chloé hated feeling vulnerable. 

She felt a small amount of comfort that Marinette seemed to enjoy her breasts, if the way she attacked them last night like she was starving or something was any indication, but that was hardly the reaction she wanted from the hotel manager. 

Chloé’s chest tightened with anxiety as she realized that in all her distraction, she hadn't considered her outfit before calling the manager up to her room. Under normal circumstances, the first thing she would do before any kind of appointment with another person would be to carefully decide how she needed to appear, and what her appearance needed to say to that person down to the last detail, even if she was just wearing pajamas. Fine loungewear could convey as much elegance and control as a tailored bouclé suit, if you did it right. But now, according to her estimation she had only enough time to quickly retrieve a bra and a hair tie, or to try and moderate the very obvious odor in the room.

She opted for the latter, and grabbed her bottle of Coco Mademoiselle spraying it liberally around the entire suite. Chloé would have tried lighting candles as well, but those were definitely against hotel policy with the numerous fire alarms in every suite and hallway.

A quick, sharp knock at the door put an end to Chloé’s attempts at damage control.

Chloé shook her head. Now the room smelled like a combination of perfume and sex, which wasn’t really an improvement, and she had no idea how to explain away the broken furniture, the ruined carpet, and that awful stain on the chair. She decided a direct approach was for the best and put on her “high society princess” face.

Opening the door, she admired how close Maxime came to appearing unfazed upon seeing the state of the room. She also silently congratulated herself on another successful effort to remember the names of the various staff who waited on her. Marinette insisted that was important, and it did seem to create an atmosphere of goodwill.

“You know I’m not much for sugarcoating, Maxime,” she said, speaking in a rapid staccato. “Last night was a little wild.”

Maxime nodded, and to his credit, didn’t smirk. Chloé wondered if he might deserve a raise for that alone as he said, “Don’t worry, Miss Bourgeois. I promise you, we will as always be discreet.”

“I take it you’ve seen rooms in as bad a condition as this before?” Chloé asked, finding herself genuinely curious.

The manager scoffed. “We’ve seen far worse than this.”

“Really?”

The man nodded gravely.

“Huh,” Chloé responded, surprised. “Well, okay. I don’t want you to think I don’t care how much of a mess this is…”

Maxime stopped his examination and turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Miss Bourgeois, you needn’t worry. This is, after all, why we’re employed.”

Chloé was chagrined. “I just…” she said before pausing. The man obviously didn’t need an explanation, and maybe it was best to leave it at that. She pressed on, though, saying, “I know I haven’t always been the easiest person to work for…”

At the sound of a polite chuckle, Chloé paused again, and it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

He had a soothing, genuine smile. “Miss Bourgeois, you’re no trouble at all compared to many guests. Over the years, you’ve mostly kept to yourself and you’re polite albeit reserved to the staff. How you conduct your affairs otherwise is frankly neither any of our business, nor do we wish to intrude.”

Chloé started to protest because literally no one had ever described her as “reserved”, but Maxime spoke over her.

“I’m not saying that you’ve never expressed dissatisfaction. You’ve certainly done that, but you’ve also never fondled a maid or struck anyone across the face for the high crime of not knowing the correct brand of toothpaste to have in stock. Compared to some of our other notable guests, you’re very agreeable.”

She wasn’t sure that was the absolute truth, but she didn’t want to fight about how horrible she could be.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “Maxime, I don’t want to look as if I’m trying to buy discretion, but I had been meaning to speak to you about giving everyone a nice Christmas bonus. You’ve all been so wonderful to Marinette, and I just feel like after all this time, I could… well, give back.”

“I’ll make sure no one thinks you’re trying to buy them off, Miss Bourgeois. I don’t believe you have to worry about that in the first place, but I’ll make sure of it.”

Chloé nodded. She had been thinking about the bonus for the past couple of weeks. The holidays were quickly approaching, and truthfully, she wanted to share her happiness with everyone around her, This was the only way she could think of to show the staff her appreciation.

“Now for the bad news, Miss,” Maxime continued, looking sympathetic. “I’m afraid we’ll need to move you to a new suite for a few days. We’ll be sure to tell your father that there was an unfortunate mishap while cleaning your carpets.”

“Oh, thank you for that,” Chloé said, blinking. “And a new suite does make sense. I’ll need to pack a bag.”

“Of course,” he replied. “Would you like me to come back with another room key and someone to assist you with your luggage?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll come down to the front desk. I have business to take care of anyway.”

“Very good, Miss, and will Miss Dupain-Cheng require any special accommodations in the new suite as well?”

“No,” Chloé replied. “Not that I know of, but we’ll let you know if we need anything.”

The manager made his exit and she felt a bit better after the interaction because it made sense. That was how a discussion was supposed to go. She knew her place and Maxime’s place and what each was supposed to say and how to say it.

But was it **right**? She didn’t know that any longer. Once, she had been certain that the way she knew was the way things were and the way they needed to be and if everyone would just get with the program, they would all be happier.

Now… now Marinette wanted her to try a new way, and she wanted to try for Marinette’s sake, and maybe for her own. That didn’t mean it was easy. Thinking about it made her feel unsettled and panicky. She wished she had someone she could look to and pattern herself after—someone who understood how to act in the world Marinette lived in—a world Chloé had only witnessed as if she was on the other side of a closed window. 

Sighing, Chloé packed a bag. As she sorted through items to take with her, she decided to focus on happier thoughts and called Giselle, her personal shopper. Most people wouldn’t think Chloé would want or need a personal shopper, but the woman was invaluable when Chloé was too busy with school or Papa’s events.

“Giselle, do you have that list handy? The one for Marinette’s spring wardrobe?”

When Giselle responded positively, Chloé allowed the woman to go over everything to see if Chloé wanted any changes or additions. She let her know to go ahead with the order as it stood and to destroy the receipts after having it all delivered to the bakery. 

Giselle knew better than to bother asking why and complied.

By the time the phone call was over, Chloé had already taken the elevator down to the front desk, retrieving the key to her temporary residence and mouthing a silent thanks to the desk clerk before returning upstairs to inspect her new home.

It was fine, as she would expect of any room at Le Grand Paris. It didn’t have the personal touches her own room had, but she had no one except herself and Marinette to blame for the necessity of a new suite.

She sat down and enjoyed the silence for a few minutes. So much had happened very quickly and she appreciated the time to just let a bit of it sink in.

It occurred to her that she should warn the Dupain-Chengs before delivery men came carrying armfuls of clothes and shoes.

One quick phone call later, and Chloé had permission for the delivery to be brought straight to Marinette’s room. The only compromise wasn’t a compromise at all. Sabine wanted her to come for dinner and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

After a few more minutes trying to center herself by alternating between pacing, sitting, shaking out her hands, and counting steps between the various parts of the room, she decided she couldn’t put things off any longer, and went back to her original suite to retrieve her suitcase and also gather her vanity items. Those things, especially the pictures of Maman and Marinette, were too precious to allow anyone else to handle.

She carefully arranged everything in her new bathroom. After, she checked the time and estimated that Marinette should be home soon if she had went on patrol with Chat Noir like she usually did. 

Giselle texted that the delivery was complete, and she had went herself to oversee. She also said that Marinette’s room was stylishly put together. Chloé took that as a compliment. Giselle had good taste.

Chloé gathered some things that she might leave at Marinette’s for convenience’s sake and went down to the lobby with her suitcase, where she had the concierge call her a car. She sat and filed her nails as she waited.

Her thoughts turned to Adrien. His relationship woes should be a quick fix. The man was objectively gorgeous. Even Chloé, who had never in her life considered a man in a romantic or erotic way, could admit that. She ran down the list of Adrien’s virtues in her head wondering why on Earth whatever woman he had set his sights on wouldn’t be on him like glue the moment he let her know he was interested. Not only was he handsome, he was kind, considerate, intelligent, and funny.

He shouldn’t have any problem at all unless there was some outside force interfering, and Chloé composed a list of suspects who might be working against Adrien having a successful social life. The list consisted of one name: Gabriel Agreste. She was certain he was the true source of Adrien’s troubles. For the life of her, Chloé couldn’t understand what was wrong with the man. He appeared for all intents and purposes to be determined to crush anything resembling pleasure that came into his son’s life.

Ever since Adrien’s maman had left, Chloé had watched quietly (and she hated herself for being so self-obsessed that she hadn’t stepped up years earlier) as Adrien’s home life deteriorated. Chloé’s maman would be disappointed that she hadn’t been a better friend, too. Maman had been Madame Agreste’s best friend and that was putting it lightly. Papa had once described them as inseparable, and Chloé could almost have sworn that he sounded jealous whenever he spoke of Madame Agreste.

This brought to mind another reason she had to succeed in helping Adrien. She had to do this both for him and their mothers. Arriving at this resolution made her feel better. She had a task to put her considerable talent for scheming towards, and for once that was going to be used for good.

First, she would have to pry the name of this woman out of Adrien. Sometimes, he was too shy for his own good. He might have reservations, but Chloé was confident she could get the information out of him in short order.

Then she would map out a strategy to make this girl fall in love with Adrien no matter what it took. Chloé didn’t intend to give her victim a choice in the matter. And honestly, no matter how his father might interfere, it was hard to imagine a girl not going for Adrien. Well, unless she was a lesbian like Chloé herself was. She supposed there was always that possibility. Or maybe she was… What was that term Sabrina had used? Ah, yes! Perhaps the woman piquing Adrien’s interest was asexual.

It occurred to Chloé that there might be other sexual orientations to consider that she hadn’t felt the need to remember, and she felt regret—which was also a new and slightly disturbing feeling—for not paying more attention when Sabrina spoke about these things. The entire subject terrified her and still made her stomach clench, but she needed to do better, especially with how much it mattered to Sabrina.

She owed the effort to be a better friend to Sabrina, Adrien, and Marinette at the very least, and her girlfriend would insist she owed it to herself, too. The notion that Chloé might owe herself a chance to be a decent human being was… alien. Honestly, she didn’t understand it at all, but Marinette kept insisting and Chloé couldn’t deny her anything.

No, she thought. Chloé wasn’t doing this for herself. 

She refocused on Adrien. One potential roadblock was that she had no idea how to go about this like an **actual** good person would. For instance, would Adrien be okay with her mentioning his situation to Marinette? Or would that betray his confidence? Could he realistically expect her to keep secrets from her girlfriend? Was that something she should just ask him, or would that be offensive to him?

She had no idea what the right thing to do was. This whole relationship business was far more complicated than she had thought it could be. It used to be that she would just prioritize whoever made her happiest—who had what she wanted most in other words—and that would drive who she kept secrets from or who she shared information with. Words, after all, were nothing more than weapons when you got down to the heart of it.

Suddenly, Chloé felt a surge of bewilderment, annoyance, and giddiness run through her, and she knew instantly it was Marinette. She would bet her entire fortune that her girlfriend had found her new spring wardrobe.

Chloé grinned, feeling smug. She knew that Marinette had weird ideas about how to “properly” spend money… whatever that was supposed to mean… but that was why Chloé had taken precautions by instructing Giselle to throw out the receipts after she made her purchases. If some item ended up not being suitable, there was always tailoring if necessary, and it was a small price to pay for the chance to make her Mari smile. 

That was the point of having all this money, not staring at a meaningless bank balance.

She was torn out of that line of thought when she felt Marinette’s distinct presence in her mind. Well, this was… new and different. She could always sense Marinette’s feelings now, but this was more… active. Marinette was trying to connect with her instead of just passively reading what she was feeling.

The recognition that Marinette desired this bond and was purposefully activating it made Chloé feel wanted, and that was something she would never cease to be surprised about.

Marinette **wanted** to be bonded to her. Marinette wanted **her**.

That thought kindled such a fire inside her that Chloé thought she might have to slip off somewhere private. The intensity of the lust she felt at that moment was breathtaking, and she could feel herself starting to perspire.

Perhaps fortunately, that was when Marinette called, giving Chloé a necessary and much more appropriate outlet for her affection.

One quick discussion later, in which Chloé was victorious in her effort to insist Marinette was keeping everything Chloé had bought, and her driver, Claude, had arrived at the hotel.

In short order, Claude had Chloé and her bag safely secured in the limo and on their way to the bakery.

She decided to try casual conversation with Claude. Usually, she would simply ride in silence or busy herself with some trivial task that let her do anything but focus on how alone she felt. Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Should she ask Claude about his day? Would someone paid to ferry around rich, spoiled people all day even want to have a conversation with her at all?

Claude must have noticed her discomfort as he cleared his throat.

“Is anything the matter, Miss?” he asked.

Her usual reaction would be to snap defensively to cover her embarrassment, but that wasn’t what Marinette would do. It wasn’t what she would want Chloé to do. For reasons that Chloé wasn’t sure she would ever truly grasp, Marinette thought she was better than that.

Chloé did something she had never tried before. She admitted she had no idea what she was doing.

“I was going to ask about your day, but I wasn’t sure you would want to chat,” she said, leaving off the obvious “with me” from the end of her sentence.

Glancing back at her in the mirror, Claude chuckled. “I’m not very good at small talk myself, but we can struggle through together if you like.”

Chloé laughed, put at ease by her driver’s good-natured earnestness. “Okay, so how’s your day been, Claude?”

For the rest of the trip, she and Claude talked about his life outside of the driver’s seat of the limousine. Chloé was delighted that his twin girls were excited about their upcoming winter vacation from school. She often made a big show of not liking little children, but really she appreciated how straightforward they were in contrast to most adults Chloé knew.

Claude safely deposited her on the doorstep of the bakery, and Chloé happily waved goodbye to him on impulse as the car pulled away. She wasn’t sure she was supposed to do that. From every example she ever had, it wasn’t the proper way to deal with an employee, but she had been thinking lately that maybe she had learned a lot of the wrong lessons from her upbringing. Being nice to Claude and having a conversation with him had felt nice. She hoped he hadn’t felt pressured to be nice to her in return.

Turning to face the bakery, Chloé felt like she was at home. It was strange. Maybe it was the bond again.

Shrugging, she wheeled her suitcase behind her as she entered the building.

Marinette and both of her parents were in the front part of the bakery as she entered. Immediately, the eyes of all three Dupain-Chengs went to the suitcase, and Chloé decided she should state her case preemptively.

“I enjoyed working with you in the bakery, Tom,” she said without preamble. “It was really fun, and I thought I might get a chance to do it again, so I brought a couple of changes of clothes.

“If that’s okay,” she appended as an afterthought. It occurred to her then that she might need permission to store things at someone else’s house. “And also a toothbrush and a couple of other things…” A sudden surge of embarrassment bordering on terrified panic emanated from the portion of her consciousness that belonged to Marinette, making her pause and stutter. “J-just in case… um… there’s a sleepover.”

Sleepover? She wasn’t fourteen any longer, and there was no way Mari’s parents were going to buy that, which she confirmed with a single glance. She had intended to say that those items were for when she stayed the night, but the panic from Marinette had annoyingly took over her own brain for a second because calling it a sleepover? That was a very Marinette thing to do, and Marinette was evidently horrified at the notion her parents might realize she and Chloé were sleeping together.

Chloé felt angry. No, she felt wounded. After all the worry Chloé had went through over making sure that Mari knew she wasn’t ashamed to openly be with a woman and that she wouldn’t hide their relationship, this is what she got?

Her head snapped towards Marinette, who looked terrified, and Chloé asked accusingly, “Are you ashamed that I’m your girlfriend?”

The words were harsh and her tone was harsher. She had no idea how the Dupain-Chengs would take her question, but at the moment only their daughter mattered to Chloé.

“No!” Marinette exclaimed, stepping close and grabbing Chloé’s hands in hers. “It’s just… in front of my parents… you know?” she finished, voice barely above a whisper as she cut her eyes towards the couple in question.

Chloé followed her gaze. Tom looked like he would rather be anywhere but in the bakery he so dearly loved. Sabine, on the other hand, appeared as tranquil as a warm summer day except… and Chloé had no idea how the woman was pulling this off while still looking completely calm and unbothered… she seemed to be radiating disapproval that made Chloé feel like her next words had better be correct or there would be unspoken but serious consequences.

Chloé blurted out, “I’m sorry!”

This was a notable statement for two reasons. First, Chloé Bourgeois rarely apologized, and by “rarely” it was more accurate to say “almost never willingly and even then only after a great deal of stubborn resistance.” Second, Chloé wasn’t sure who she was apologizing to exactly. Was it Marinette or her parents or maybe everyone within earshot? Regardless, it seemed she had discovered an urgent need to get the apology out into the open even if she didn’t quite understand what exactly the problem was.

Still, she had misunderstood Marinette’s panic. The brunette’s fear was obviously justified. The next time Papa needed to intimidate a political opponent, Chloé was convinced he should call Sabine to assist him.

A side effect of not knowing precisely how she had offended Sabine and her unfamiliarity with apologizing was an overwhelming impulse to start babbling. This was also something Chloé never did. Even as she spoke, she realized that staying quiet would have been the right move. Nonetheless, she couldn’t seem to help herself.

“We don’t have to have sex here!” she blurted out, and for once the humiliated look on her face had nothing to do with any kind of spiritual-emotional transfer. No, that was all her. “I mean… I… uh… don’t actually know what I mean anymore, but I am **really** sorry.”

She risked a glance at Marinette and was strangely comforted that her girlfriend seemed to be just as mortified.

Not that that stopped Chloé from talking, of course. After all, Sabine hadn’t thrown her out yet, so why not keep digging that hole?

“We could just sleep?” she asked hoping that was the right thing to say. “Or I can go home now and never come back?” Chloé started edging towards the door, but stopped when Sabine raised an eyebrow.

“Tom,” Sabine said evenly. “The girls and I are going upstairs to have tea. Would you like some tea as well?”

Her husband blinked and said, “No tea for me. I’m fine. I’ll just mind the bakery.”

“Of course,” Sabine answered. “I’ll have Marinette bring you down a cup.”

Chloé gulped. The thought of being alone with Marinette’s mother wasn’t high on her list of Things To Do at the moment.

“Come along, girls,” Sabine said and made for the stairs without checking to see if she was being followed.

Chloé took Marinette’s hand and half-dragged her along. If Sabine wasn’t tossing her out on her ear, she was going to fight (or negotiate or maybe beg) for what time she could get with Marinette, but she sure as hell wasn’t going up those stairs alone. Also, she wasn’t sure if Marinette was fully present, so it seemed wrong to just leave her there standing and staring into space. 

Upstairs, Sabine went straight to the kitchen, and the two girls followed. She motioned to the small kitchen table and Chloé and Marinette sat without further prompting while Sabine busied herself making tea.

No one spoke.

The kettle began to boil, and Sabine sighed as she lifted it from the burner and set it on a tray with cups, which she then brought to the table. Seating herself, she regarded the two young women.

Chloé wasn’t sure about Marinette, but she herself was definitely focused on the act of not sweating. 

After about three minutes, Sabine poured two cups of tea and said, “The tea has steeped long enough, Marinette. Please take your father his cup.” She motioned at one of the cups of newly poured tea.

Suddenly, a strange calm settled on Marinette. Chloé found it startling because it was almost like Marinette became a different person. How had she not known this brave, beautiful woman was Ladybug?

“No,” Marinette calmly replied. “I’m sorry, Maman, but I’m not abandoning Chloé, and Papa said he didn’t want any tea.”

Sabine picked up her cup, and sipped her tea. Then, the older woman tilted her head slightly to the side and stared at Marinette for a long moment, unblinking, before finally saying, “Take Tom his tea, Marinette.”

Marinette opened her mouth to argue, but Chloé cut her off.

“I’ll be fine, Mari,” she said, hoping she sounded more certain than she felt.

Marinette looked between her maman and Chloé for several seconds before setting her mouth in a grim line. She nodded and picked up the tea, heading down the stairs.

As she watched her girlfriend walk downstairs, Chloé felt Sabine’s gaze fall on her. She turned and waited while Sabine serenely sipped her tea.

“You’re very good for my daughter,” the older woman said, setting her cup down and pouring Chloé a cup.

That was… not what Chloé expected. Maybe she hadn’t heard that right. “I’m sorry?” she asked.

“You’re good for her. The way she stands up for you. Fearless,” Sabine smiled. “I’ve always known she was a strong girl with a good heart. It’s nice to see you bring that out in her.”

Unsure of what to say, Chloé took a sip of her own cup of tea. “This is very good,” she said softly.

“Thank you,” Sabine said. “And I think Marinette is very good for you, too.”

“You have **no** idea,” Chloé agreed, hating how sad she sounded. She disliked being this exposed.

“I think I might,” Sabine replied.

Chloé sighed and nodded. “I do have a reputation.”

“We talked about that last night,” Sabine said pouring a third cup.

“I remember,” Chloé admitted.

Chloé was a bit surprised that Marinette wasn’t back, and she could faintly hear two voices having a heated discussion downstairs.

“A lot’s happened in a short time,” Chloé continued, trying not to think about the fact that she was also now responsible for Marinette and her papa arguing.

“True,” the older woman said with a gentle smile, ignoring the raised voices from the bakery. “But I don’t care much for the past. I care about the present, and right now, Chloé? You’re very good for my daughter.”

“I promise you I won’t hurt her!” Chloé said firmly. She recognized this talk. This was the “hurt my daughter and you’ll pay” talk.

That brought forth a chuckle from Sabine. “That’s not a promise you can make, Chloé. You’ll both hurt each other.” She held a hand up to stop Chloé from interjecting. “That’s simply how things work. The important part is you love her, correct?”

Chloé nodded, surprised that she wasn’t being threatened.

“And she loves you, Chloé,” Sabine continued. “Always hold onto that and you’ll work things out in the end, even when you hurt each other. Believe me, it’s always a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if.’”

Chloé thought she understood what Sabine’s point was and nodded again. She had hurt Marinette with her accusation that Marinette was ashamed.

The youngest Dupain-Cheng reentered the kitchen, obviously unhappy. Chloé could also feel her amazement at how placid a scene she had returned to.

Marinette sat down, and Chloé immediately turned to her deciding that Marinette’s feelings were more important than her own pride.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” Chloé said. “What I said was awful. I know you’re not ashamed of me. I was being insecure.”

Marinette silenced Chloé with a kiss which made Chloé’s feel like her insides were melting.

The kiss wasn’t aggressive or lewd, but it contained all the passion that Chloé could ever want.

Suddenly, both she and Marinette remembered they weren’t alone. They broke the kiss and slowly turned towards Sabine.

Chloé cleared her throat and Marinette smiled sheepishly at her maman.

Sabine sipped her tea.

“What is it, Maman?” Marinette said. At Chloé’s puzzled look, she explained, “Maman thinks I’ve done something wrong and she wants me to figure out what I’ve done on my own.”

A flick of her eyes towards Sabine to see the slight upturn of her lips was all the confirmation Chloé needed.

“A little help, Maman?” Marinette asked starting to look cross. 

Setting her cup down, Sabine raised an eyebrow. “I think you hurt Chloé’s feelings, Marinette, and I know I raised you better than that.” She turned her gaze to Chloé and asked, “Isn’t that why you snapped at her, Chloé?”

Chloé felt a bit on the spot. “I—Yes,” she admitted, staring down at her teacup. 

Marinette looked down at the table and said, “You’re right.” She looked up at Chloé. “I shouldn’t act like I’m ashamed of you, Chloé. I’m not sure you understand how proud I am to be with you.”

Now, Chloé was feeling distinctly uncomfortable, the two women’s attention feeling like a bright lamp shining directly on her face.

Marinette lifted the blonde’s head with a finger under her chin. Then she cupped Chloé’s face with both her hands and kissed her again.

“Do you accept my apology?” Marinette asked, smiling as she pulled back. 

Chloé blinked. “Of course,” she answered.

“Good,” Sabine said and sat her empty cup down. “Now let’s talk about boundaries.”

The two younger women had some idea of what she meant, but waited patiently, which seemed to please Sabine.

“Chloé,” Sabine began. “You aren’t used to boundaries, are you?”

“Not really,” she answered. No point in lying about it.

“Can you see why it would be polite to ask Tom and me what we’re comfortable with inside our own house when it comes to our daughter’s relationships?”

“Oh,” Chloé said. “That… does make sense.” She paused. “Should I ask both you and Tom at the same time if it’s okay if I stay over sometimes? Or is it okay to ask him later? Or is that something Marinette should ask because it’s not my place?

“I’m sorry,” she said, babbling again. “I don’t understand how this works. I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

Marinette let slip a nervous giggle, and Sabine chuckled as well.

“It’s okay,” the older woman answered. “I can assure you, though, that Tom would rather never hear about his daughter’s sexual exploits.”

Marinette had chosen the wrong time to take a sip of her tea. She spluttered before exclaiming, “Exploits?!”

Sabine shrugged.

Chloé considered modeling her behavior on Sabine. She was increasingly sure that the way she had behaved before Marinette had won her over wasn’t going to work any longer, and Chloé admired the unflappable woman across from her, but she also wondered if that would weird out Marinette. Chloé decided to ask her later.

“Of course, you can stay over anytime you like, Chloé,” Sabine said. “There is one condition.” Once she was sure she had both of their attentions, she continued. “The two of you will limit any friskiness to Marinette’s bedroom.”

“Does ‘friskiness’ also include kissing?” Chloé asked over the sound of Marinette’s strangled protest over discussing anything about sex with or in front of her mother. Chloé liked the idea of being very specific about what was and wasn’t proper.

“Kissing is fine. Just keep to Marinette’s bedroom for your other activities,” Sabine clarified as Marinette groaned and put her head face-first on the table.

“That includes heavy petting, too,” Sabine added.

Marinette began thumping her forehead repeatedly on the table.

“Marinette,” her maman said sternly. “We’ve talked about you damaging the table.”

Marinette sat up, pouting.

“Oh my god,” Chloé declared. “You’re so adorable!”

Marinette frowned harder. “Now the two of you are teaming up against me.”

“We’ll do our best to be respectful,” Chloé assured Marinette’s maman. To appease her grumpy girlfriend, she took her hand under the table and squeezed.

“Thank you, Chloé,” Sabine said, standing. “The only other thing I ask is keep the noise down when you’re… sleeping.”

“Oh my god…” Marinette groaned, exasperated. “Yes, we’ll be quiet, okay?”

As Sabine put the dishes away, Chloé quietly asked Marinette, “Is this what having a mother is like?” It had been so long that Chloé couldn’t really recall how it felt.

She must not have spoken quietly enough because Sabine stopped what she was doing with the dishes and turned, giving her an appraising look.

“What do you mean, Chloé?” Sabine asked.

Chloé froze. She **never** talked about this. It wasn’t that she was exactly against Sabine knowing, but talking about it made her feel like everything was collapsing in on her. She had only spoken about it with Adrien, Sabrina, and Marinette.

“Her maman passed away,” Marinette answered, rubbing Chloé’s shoulder gently.

“When I was ten,” Chloé whispered, angry that her voice shook. Suddenly, everything looked and sounded sharper and louder and more intense. She recognized this and was ashamed to realize that she was careening towards a second panic attack in front of other people in as many days.

Before Chloé quite understood what was happening, Sabine had crossed the distance between them and embraced her.

There was a small moment of terror. Chloé wasn’t used to and didn’t really like people in her space, but there was also something comforting about Marinette’s maman. Well, she was comforting most of the time. There were other times where she was far scarier than any akuma that Chloé had encountered, and she had run afoul of quite a few.

Sabine meant this as a nice gesture, though, so Chloé ran through counting exercises in her head until she felt herself relax in her arms.

“I want you to stay here as often as you like, Chloé,” Sabine assured her. “We’re happy to have you.”

Marinette was beaming and gently said, “Yeah, Chloé, this is what it’s like to have a mother.”

Sabine tightened the embrace, and Chloé felt herself relax further. Maybe she could get used to this as long as Marinette’s family understood there were times where she couldn’t stand being touched. It was too harsh on her senses. 

“I’m sure your maman loved you very much, Chloé,” the older woman assured her. “And she would want nothing more than to see you happy.”

Chloé did her best not to tear up as she again found herself hoping that it was true that her mother might have approved of Marinette being Chloé’s girlfriend.

After taking a few minutes to get her bearings, during which Marinette and Sabine were very understanding, Chloé spent the rest of the day assisting in the bakery decorating cakes. Once she and Tom closed up shop, the four of them had dinner where Marinette let Chloé know she had texted Alya and Sabrina about meeting up tomorrow. The entire dinner was wonderful. Sabine was an excellent cook, and Marinette’s parents treated Chloé like she belonged at the table. Sabine said she and Tom would clean up after dinner, so Chloé and Marinette went upstairs to work on tomorrow’s school assignments.

Chloé felt that this was definitely what it was like to have a close family. 

Her attempt to study lasted less than thirty seconds after she and Marinette cracked open their books.

Chloé really had intended to do her homework. She truly did. The blonde was on Marinette’s bed laying on her stomach and propping her history book on a pillow so she could read it better, when Marinette snuck up from behind and started tenderly kissing the nape of her neck. All thoughts of Louis XIV’s reign flew out of Chloé’s head.

She groaned softly with pleasure and her eyes rolled back in her head as Marinette worked her way up Chloé’s neck to nibble on her earlobe.

“Mari,” Chloé hissed out. “Oh, y-yes, Mari that’s… oh…”

Marinette chuckled, sounding far too self-satisfied for Chloé’s liking.

“We’re supposed to be… oh! S-studying!” Chloé managed to stutter out.

“I am studying,” Marinette offered. “Your neck is quite fascinating.”

Chloé snorted. “You sound like a vampire!”

Marinette rolled her over and straddled her, pinning Chloé’s wrists behind her head.

“Is that something you like, Chloé? Vampires?” she asked, a hungry look on her face. “Do you want me to bite you?”

Chloé hadn’t realized Marinette restraining her in such a way would take her breath away, but she needed a few seconds before she could respond. She settled for nodding.

Marinette smiled and started gently biting Chloé’s neck.

“Oh, Mari!” Chloé moaned once she found words again. “If you ever do get turned into a vampire, and… Oh! Yes! Just a little lower! And since we do live in a world with m-magic and Oh god! Yes! A-and monsters…”

She had to stop trying to use words and just let Marinette work her own personal brand of magic for a few minutes as the brunette roamed freely, kissing and biting Chloé’s throat and collarbone. 

“If you ever are turned into a vampire, Marinette,” Chloé said feeling breathless and floaty. “Just consider me Willing Victim Number One.”

Marinette kissed her on the mouth, laughing against her lips before slowly raising up to look Chloé in the eye.

The desire in Marinette’s gaze matched her own.

“Mark me,” Chloé said between ragged breaths. “I want everyone to know I’m yours, Mari.”

Marinette’s breathing was as labored as hers, and the brunette started to lean forward, but stopped and blinked, asking, “Are you sure, Chloé? You might not be so cool with it in the morning.”

Chloé blinked and took several long moments to consider before laughing. “You’re right,” she said. “I’d probably be upset in the morning.”

Marinette cuddled into Chloé’s side, tracing the blonde’s jawline with her finger, drawing a hum of appreciation from Chloé.

“This is so not fair, Marinette,” Chloé said. “I’m like orgasmic putty in your hands.”

Marinette giggled and replied, “Does it help that I feel the same way?”

Chloé made a show of thinking about it, tapping a finger to her chin for several seconds while she stared at the ceiling like it held all the secrets of the universe.

“It does,” she decided. “I’m satisfied for now.”

“Oh?” Marinette asked. “You’re… satisfied?”

Chloé let loose with a half-snort, half laugh that would have left her thoroughly embarrassed if anyone other than her girlfriend had witnessed it.

“If you satisfy me any more tonight,” she whispered huskily. “I might need a hospital.”

Marinette started playing with a loose lock of hair that come undone from Chloé’s ponytail.

“It’s been a crazy two days, hasn’t it?” the brunette asked.

“I don’t know,” Chloé said, smirking. “Seems like this wouldn’t be too unusual for you since you’re a magical girl. All sorts of weird stuff happens to magical girls.”

Marinette undid Chloé’s ponytail and buried her face in the blonde’s now loose hair with a low whine.

“I keep telling you,” she said, her voice muffled. “I’m not Sailor Moon, you giant nerd.”

“Oh?” Chloé smirked. “You have a mystical companion who looks sort of like an animal, right?”

Marinette went limp against Chloé’s side, which the blonde took as assent.

“And you have magic jewelry which transforms you, right?”

Marinette grunted. Once again, Chloé took that as her agreeing.

“And you have a strange, mysterious archenemy who keeps sending ridiculous minion after minion to attack you.”

“Hey,” Marinette countered. “You were one of those so-called ‘ridiculous minions.’”

Chloé was touched that Marinette was offended on her behalf.

“I think I was a boss fight,” Chloé said seriously. “The magical girl has to periodically fight a stronger enemy before getting to the archenemy.”

“You came closer to beating me than anyone ever has,” Marinette agreed.

Chloé pulled Marinette even closer and began petting her hair. She sighed and said, “I’m sorry about that, by the way.”

Marinette squeezed her tight. “Don’t apologize. Neither of us was at our best.” The brunette sat up, looking serious—almost mournful. “I don’t like thinking about it if I’m honest, Chloé.” She cut her eyes to the side and Chloé could see tears forming. “I mean, I almost lost you before I found you, and it was all because I wouldn’t listen to you.”

Chloé cupped her girlfriend’s cheek and turned her head to face her. Chloé’s face was deadly serious. “Don’t pretend I wasn’t a heinous bitch, Marinette. I caused that situation.”

Marinette shrugged, clearly not happy about that assessment. “Okay. Fine,” she said in an obvious attempt to change the subject. “I guess I’m a magical girl.”

The blonde giggled and felt a little disturbed. Chloé Bourgeois did not giggle. Except now she did, and she was **mostly** okay with that.

“At least, you get to tell Chat Noir that he’s a magical girl, Mari,” Chloé offered. “That should be fun.”

“Pfft,” Marinette responded. “That other giant nerd in my life loves anime, too. He’ll be thrilled that he’s a magical girl.”

Chloé was rendered helpless with laughter. “Oh, that’s amazing! I love that he embraces his inner geek!

Suddenly, she sprang into a sitting position, twitching with excitement as she realized a very important fact. “And we share a psychic link! That means I’m a magical girl, too! We can all be magical girls together!” She pressed her palms together and did a little shimmy declaring, “Best! Day! Ever!”

Marinette folded her arms and pouted, so Chloé grabbed her and pulled her into a kiss.

They held each other, gently kissing, for the next few minutes until a distinct beeping noise disturbed them.

“Speaking of the alley cat,” Marinette said, although her tone was fond.

“Emergency?” 

Marinette shrugged, getting up. “Maybe. I hope not.”

She answered the communicator and immediately Chloé could tell it wasn’t good. She climbed up to the balcony to let Tikki know. The kwami was stargazing up there.

By the time they returned, Marinette was telling Chat Noir she would be there as soon as she could.

“Sorry, Chloé,” Marinette said, and Chloé could feel the worry eating at her girlfriend. “But—”

“Go, Marinette,” Chloé said reassuringly. “I’m fine.”

Tikki interrupted Marinette before she could ask to be transformed.

“Chloé,” the kwami said as she flew over to her. “You might feel a slight pull and a draining sensation when Marinette is fighting the akuma. Just remember to stay relaxed if you can. The Bond will do the work, and it’s important that you don’t panic, for both your sakes.”

Chloé gave a single, determined nod of her head. “Will do, Tikki.”

Marinette pecked Chloé on the cheek and then had Tikki transform her.

“If your parents come up, I’ll tell them you’re in the bath,” Chloé said as Ladybug disappeared out the balcony exit.

Chloé immediately went to Marinette’s computer and pulled up a stream of the news. That Chamack woman was broadcasting the akuma attack, but seemed to be cordoned off from the area where the akumatized victim was located. That concerned Chloé. Nadja Chamack was a determined reporter and if there was any way to get close enough for an eyewitness report, she would have found a way to be there.

Chamack reported that the victim was a bank robber who had been cornered by the police inside his latest targeted bank after he tripped a silent alarm. It appeared he was armed and now that he was akumatized, his weaponry had received a magical upgrade.

Fear gripped Chloé. This was what Ladybug and Chat Noir were heading into? She tried to hold onto the fact that this was why she was now bonded to Marinette. Sure, the emotional connection—and the sex, Chloé admitted—fulfilled her in a way she had never imagined possible, but its primary purpose was giving Ladybug strength in battle against these increasingly dangerous akuma attacks.

Part of her wished that Marinette had bonded with Chat Noir. It wasn’t due to any cowardice. She wanted this bond, and she wanted to contribute any way she could, but she found herself fearful for Chat Noir. He didn’t have a bond to grant him strength. 

She wondered when Chat Noir had come to matter to her, and she marveled at how simultaneously rewarding and scary it was to care about others.

Chloé remembered that she had Chat Noir’s online contact information. After this was over, she was going to contact him. Maybe he would be willing to allow Chloé to help him with his love life the way she was going to help Adrien. That way, Chat could have his own mystic strength-giving bond, too.

Her attention was pulled back to the screen as Ladybug and Chat Noir zipped past Nadja Chamack, heading towards the akuma at full speed, and Chloé could feel that light draining sensation Tikki had described.

Inspiration struck Chloé. Earlier today, Marinette had focused through the bond and Chloé had felt everything Marinette felt with astonishing strength and clarity.

Closing her eyes, Chloé searched her feelings, holding onto that warm, comforting presence she knew was Marinette… 

Chloé focused… 

Yes. There. She could feel a pull more clearly now… It was hard for her to comprehend exactly what it was. It felt like she was standing in a swift current swirling around her with a small stream surging away from her towards Marinette’s presence.

There was so much… was it energy? Chloé decided that was as good a descriptor as any… There was so much energy surrounding Chloé and so little of it flowing towards Marinette.

Fuck that.

Chloé concentrated trying to push more energy towards the woman she loved. What good did it do flowing around her if Marinette needed it?

But it was as if there was some sort of stopper pushing back against her… containing the energy… regulating it… preventing it from flooding out to its necessary destination. 

Obviously, whatever this mystical barrier was hadn’t counted on encountering Chloé Bourgeois.

She pushed harder… focused harder… refused to give any mental ground.

And the barrier crumbled… and then broke. 

Energy swirled and eddied around Chloé. A deafening flood enclosed and encompassed her, and Chloé intuited that it infused her. She could sense that if she were to lose concentration for even a moment, all that she was would be lost. Her mind and her body would be swept away becoming the torrent and scattering.

She did not care.

She would not lose concentration.

She would master this.

She did master this.

Chloé felt the energy at last bend to her will, and she directed the torrent towards Marinette. Chloé could taste the energy of both living and nonliving things around her and wondered if she could tap into that energy as well and give it to Marinette, too.

Chloé reached out towards that ocean of energy around her and connected. 

Her mind became fire. 

Electricity flowed and sparked… between and through the cells composing her body… between and through the atoms composing her cells… between and through the particles composing her atoms… 

All that once was Chloé… shattered into nothingness.

All that once was Chloé… rebuilt itself by her will and her will alone.

And in one microfraction of a second… 

Chloé became all that had happened and all that would happen and all that might happen…

Chloé experienced all that had happened and all that would happen and all that might happen… 

Chloé knew all that had happened and all that would happen and all that might happen… 

Chloé saw all that had happened and all that would happen and all that might happen… 

Chloé touched the face of God… and found that she touched her own face.

Chloé was nothing… all was nothing. 

Chloé spoke herself into being and subsequently spoke all into being.

Chloé smiled at the beginning of all. At her command the universe and all its perceived and unperceived dimensions exploded outward in energy and raw, nascent matter, and her touch gave hope and confidence.

Chloé wept at the end of all. With her permission the universe and all its perceived and unperceived dimensions collapsed in on itself in a death consisting of heat and darkness, and her touch gave solace and comfort. 

Chloé saw all and was all and was nothing. 

Chloé with but a single thought eliminated the mistake of Entropy releasing all from suffering and comfort… from pain and pleasure… from anguish and joy… from desperation and relief… from hate and love… from grief and bliss… and witnessed order and stasis calcify all.

Chloé with but a single thought restored the mistake of Entropy condemning all to suffering and comfort… to pain and pleasure… to anguish and joy… to desperation and relief… to hate and love… to grief and bliss… and witnessed chaos and dynamism animate all.

Chloé turned to her beloved maman and her beloved papa and Chloé saw and experienced all the love they had for their daughter and all the fears they held that led to mistakes which built on themselves until their daughter was so lost her only possible salvation rested in the freely given love of the best woman Chloé would ever meet.

Chloé embraced Maman and Papa and freed them from their regrets.

Chloé turned to Gabriel Agreste as he raged time and again as all his schemes under the guise of Hawk Moth came to nothing in the face of Ladybug and Chat Noir until, unworthy of the Miraculous, he was toppled from his throne made of sand.

Chloé pitied Gabriel and filled his dreams with peace and love.

Chloé turned to Adrien Agreste as he stood at the edge of a diverging road, unsure of which direction he should take. One path led to a towering palace of crystal and marble and a terrible queen worthy of ruling beside him. The other path led to a sprawling garden where deeply hidden in the heart of the wild garden was a single precious flower ready to bloom at any moment.

Chloé reassured Adrien and whispered to him he should trust himself to choose the path right for him.

Chloé turned to Marinette Dupain-Cheng who lay broken by the terrible suffering she must endure or all would be lost.

Chloé gave her heart to Marinette and held the Bearer of Creation while Marinette wept tears of rage and pain.

Chloé turned to herself and watched again and again the terrible sacrifice she would make.

Chloé reminded herself of the necessity of her sacrifice and despaired.

Chloé’s eye turned to the those friends and foes who through their words and actions would strengthen and weaken the bearers of the Miraculous for they would be the crucible in which the future would be forged.

Chloé anointed them and whispered blessings unto them, taking special note of one young girl who, without her knowledge, would make a single, small decision that would determine the fate of all.

Chloé’s eye turned to the kwami and the lie they had constructed to fool themselves at the beginning of all and what danger that lie called Entropy would wreak upon realities intertwined in a web of causality.

Chloé feasted with her brethren and shared the sorrow of their elegies.

Chloé at last turned to the dark queen sitting on her throne of ice, face hidden by a heavy, gray veil. Chloé paused, refusing to lift the ashen shroud for she knew she could not allow what must be to come to pass if she looked upon that visage of ruin.

Chloé instead held out her hand to her veiled companion, who upon taking it arose, and they walked hand in hand while speaking of the past and the future as they strolled through the silent halls of crystal and marble before traveling down a rugged path until they came into the wild garden and gazed upon the precious flower hidden deep within the twisting vines. At that very moment, the pair watched the bud unfold into a delicate blossom, revealing at its center a heart shining bright and pure, and both Chloé and her enshrouded companion knew it was the fulcrum upon which was balanced the fate of all. 

And in one microfraction of a second… 

Chloé stepped back and divested herself of this harrowing omniscience and stripped herself of this dread omnipotence for she knew what would be and why what would be **must** be.

And she was again Chloé Bourgeois… woman… daughter… lover… and nothing more. 

She knew something important had happened. She knew she had seen something important.

She could not remember it. She must not remember it.

All she did know and all she truly cared about was that her plan had worked. She had given Marinette more power than the bond was intended to carry. That was all that mattered to her.

She had kept Marinette safe.

Chloé’s face felt warm and instinctively she reached up, touching her mouth. She pulled her hand away. 

Blood.

She looked down. Blood had streaked down her face to cover her shirt. Fortunately, she had managed to not bleed on anything else. 

Cupping her hand below her nose and mouth, she ran to the bathroom. Her face was a crimson mess. Quickly, she turned on the cold water and stripped her shirt off, twisting it up as a makeshift rag to clean herself.

The bleeding had stopped. Good. Marinette would panic if she saw this, so Marinette mustn’t know. 

Chloé wiped off the blood and scrubbed her face hard. The cold water stung her skin. Once she finished washing her face, she rinsed as much blood as possible out of the shirt before shutting the water off. 

Turning, she spotted one of the emptied suit bags, lying crumpled on the floor. It would do. She wrung out as much water from the shirt as she could—feeling Marinette’s presence nearing the bakery and wondering why the bond seemed so much more concrete to her now than it had a few minutes ago—before shoving it in the suit bag, and then in turn shoving the suit bag into the bottom of the suitcase she had brought with her. 

With moments to spare, Chloé had retrieved another shirt and was waiting on the bed as Marinette hopped down from the balcony.

Marinette remarked that Chloé looked under the weather, but she played off her girlfriend’s concerns as understandable exhaustion from two days of emotional and physical toll.

Soon, she was drifting off into a peaceful sleep, holding Marinette tightly.

Chloé had who she needed… all she needed… curled up next to her in a bed almost but not quite too small for the two of them to rest comfortably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? I'm posting a day early! Tonight and tomorrow are going to be insane for me in a weird place known as "offline" which I'm told is a necessary area for functioning. I've yet to be convinced. But at least that means I can put this out a day early!
> 
> This is another long chapter. I think some of the following chapters might not be as long once complete and edited. The lack of symmetry bothers me on a fundamental level. One of my coping mechanisms (and Chloé shares this along with many of my other coping mechanisms) is that I rely on symmetry when constructing just about anything. Drives people around me to distraction, but it is what it is.
> 
> As for the content of this chapter, I enjoyed writing it, especially the more experimental section near the end. In a sense, I revealed a lot about the plot structure, but there's a lot of gray area there for me to play within. ;)
> 
> Let me know what you think, and I hope everyone has a great weekend if I don't get a chance to respond to comments, which are always appreciated!
> 
> Oh, and please let me know if there are any typos and such. Publishing a day early means I won't be reading it the requisite five times for typos and necessary word choice analysis.


	4. What You Need and What You Value

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Anger can be a wonderful wake up call to help you understand what you need and what you value.”
> 
> \- _Marshall B Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life_ (2015)
> 
> Song Choice: “Umbrella” by Rihanna feat. Jay-Z

The fight with the akuma went so smoothly that Marinette felt almost suspicious that she would wake up and find it was a dream. After everything was over, the victim had been cured and remanded to police custody since he had already been a criminal prior to akumatization. Marinette hoped—probably in vain—that this wasn’t the start of a trend of already shady and dangerous people getting Hawk Moth’s akumas as a power-up, especially considering what Tikki had said about increasing danger to come.

That conversation had been bothering her although with everything else going on, she hadn’t really addressed it yet. It seemed as if this entire Ladybug business was deeper than she had been led to believe. A supernatural force that upped the power of whatever villain Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting? That seemed like important information to Marinette, but Tikki had never mentioned it. 

And it led Marinette to ask the inevitable question: was the kwami hiding anything else?

She didn’t want to mistrust her kwami. Tikki was her friend. She was a trusted ally. The fact remained, though, that even if she had a valid reason for not telling Marinette about the bond, she had still kept secrets. At least Marinette couldn’t complain about the bond, and she felt she had obviously underestimated what the bond really entailed. 

She had all the proof she needed from this akuma encounter.

That wasn’t to say the akuma victim hadn’t been dangerous. No, he had been stupidly dangerous. That was obvious from the start. Even before the dark butterfly infected him, he was well-armed and in a standoff with the police. After possession, his guns started firing a variety of ammunition depending on what effect the man wanted. 

Chat Noir was probably going to have nightmares about exploding glue bullets for weeks, and that was one of the non-lethal types.

It didn’t take long for the akuma to notice that while Chat was holding his own but unable to really attack and had to focus on defending himself, Ladybug was barely challenged. The boost she was receiving from the bond had roughly doubled her strength and speed by her estimation. In fact, the only reason she hadn’t wrapped the fight up was that having to keep an eye on Chat slowed her down.

At least, that was what she had thought before the akuma had decided to get serious. The air was filled with acid bullets, heat-seeking bullets, bullets that froze the area around where they struck, lightning bullets, and possibly others that Marinette hadn’t taken the time to note. For a few seconds, Marinette had thought that this might be it for her, and she felt furious that she had only had a few days of happiness with Chloé.

In an instant though, everything changed. The increase in power that she could already feel increased to the point where she felt supercharged. The bullets moved more and more slowly until Marinette felt like she was inside one of those Hong Kong action films that Chloé adored. Marinette even had time to remark to herself that maybe if Chloé had picked something a little more intellectually compelling for their date last night than a hyper-violent action flick, then they might have made it through the date like a normal couple.

Maybe. 

Probably not. 

Marinette was forced to admit that the moment everything really went off the rails was when she had turned to ask Chloé why the hero was so blasé about being sent on an obvious suicide mission to capture a drug dealer inside an apartment complex. That was when she happened to accidentally glance down the blonde’s blouse, getting an eyeful of stunningly lush cleavage. After that, thinking was out the window, which led to a flipped couch and Marinette testing to see if she could smother herself with Chloé’s breasts. 

Turned out she couldn’t, but the attempt was glorious.

It occurred to her that she probably should stop thinking about Chloé’s (admittedly amazing) breasts and focus on the dangerous madman. There was time for fantasizing after. 

As the bullets progressed towards Marinette and Chat at what she would call a brisk walking pace, she watched the air ripple around them. Funny, the films actually got that right. She would have to let Chloé know.

The akuma was standing about forty feet away where he could shoot out the shattered front window of the bank at the police and simultaneously keep the heroic duo pinned down where they stood near the blasted-open vault entrance. The angle the akuma had chosen, though, left Marinette the option of opening the vault to block the bullets with the door. She swung the door to position it in such a way as to allow her and Chat to stand behind it and formulate a plan and hopefully not have ricochets put anyone, including the akuma victim, in danger.

The fact that the vault door came off the wall when she pulled on it was surprising to say the least. The fact that it felt as light as a feather in her hand was even more surprising. She hadn’t realized the bond would give her **that** much strength. This was going to require some testing.

Chat stared at her in amazement, and she returned his amazed stare with one of her own plus a confused shrug as the bullets slammed into the door with icicles forming around the edges.

Chat winced as an explosive bullet slammed into the door, and Marinette braced it and held it in place by grabbing it with one hand. She definitely wouldn’t have had the strength to do that before. 

“Is this the bond or are you getting some extra iron in your diet, Bugaboo?” Chat shouted over the gunfire.

“I’m guessing the bond,” Marinette responded, just as loud.

“I gotta get me one of those,” Chat said with a laugh.

“All things considered, I recommend it,” she said over the enraged howl coming from the akuma.

“Mind if I join in with you and your lady love?” Chat asked with a grin and a wink.

Instinctively, Marinette’s grip tightened in response to Chat’s lewd offer, sinking her fingers into the steel like it was wet pastry dough.

“No chance,” she said flatly.

“Far be it from me to argue with a woman who can mangle reinforced steel with her bare hands,” Chat said, still grinning. “By the way, the door’s melting.”

Marinette’s eyes widened when she looked at the edges of the door as they sizzled and started collapsing. “He’s switched to acid rounds.”

There was no time. She threw her yoyo and called on her Lucky Charm… and a hairdryer landed in her hand.

The gunfire stopped, and she risked a look past the door, seeing her opening. There was still one thing she needed… and she looked up with a smile, seeing the bank had a state of the art sprinkler system installed.

The snarling akuma shouted, “Well, if bullets won’t work, how about grenades?”

“Chat,” she shouted, letting go of the door. “Hit the sprinkler system with Cataclysm and then throw your staff at the akuma!”

Her partner nodded and leaped at the ceiling and his target shouting, “Cataclysm!”

Ladybug made her move simultaneously. As she hoped, everything slowed down again.

The first order of business was the live grenade lazily drifting like a very deadly balloon towards the position she and Chat had just vacated. She grabbed it as she moved forward and threw it through the destroyed front door of the bank with all her strength, angling it upward and hoping she could throw it far enough to clear anyone outside.

Next, she let her momentum take her into a slide that went by the akuma, and she dropped the hair dryer at the akuma’s feet. Her slide continued to the wall he stood beside and slotted the hair dryer’s plug into the outlet.

The akuma had just enough time for a look of utter confusion to cross his face as the water came down from the ceiling.

Marinette pushed off the wall and threw herself to the opposite side of the room, grabbing the wall about ten feet in the air and holding herself there by burying her fingers into the concrete.

Super strength, it turned out, was awesome. 

She looked at the bank robber just as the water hit him. He went rigid and sparks flew everywhere. Almost simultaneously with the sparks, a black baton struck the akuma in the chest knocking him clear of the electricity. As Marinette predicted, the building’s power system shorted out after a couple of seconds.

“I hope he’s not dead,” Chat said from across the room.

The groaning coming from the akuma confirmed Chat’s wish.

Marinette let out a breath. The last thing she wanted was to kill someone.

“I think it’s in his gun,” she said, dropping down.

Chat threw her the weapon with a laugh. “You shouldn’t have any problem breaking it, My Lady.”

She caught the weapon and snapped it in half with one hand. “True,” she said.

Wasting no time cleansing the akuma, she then used Miraculous Ladybug and restored the area. She held out her fist for the customary fistbump and Chat hesitated.

“Be careful,” he warned, teasingly. “I like my bones uncrushed.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but held her fist still as Chat playfully bumped it softly as the police stormed in and secured the unconscious villain.

“So, that bond’s more powerful than you led me to believe,” Chat said as they walked outside. His Miraculous chimed indicating he had five minutes.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “This caught me by surprise, too.”

“I’ll ask Plagg as soon as I’m home, if you ask Tikki?” he offered.

She nodded and started to leave, but he stopped her.

“Did you see where the grenade exploded, Bugaboo?”

“No,” she admitted, suddenly afraid. “No one outside was hurt, were they?”

Chat scoffed. “I think you threw it over a kilometer if the tiny explosion I saw was any indication.”

Marinette blinked. “Yeah, I’ll definitely talk to Tikki as soon as I get home.”

Nadja Chamack was quickly approaching the building, and the last thing Marinette wanted right now was an interview.

She spun her yo-yo and pulled herself to the nearest rooftop, and was nearly halfway home when she realized that she had used Lucky Charm and her timer hadn’t made a sound.

She should be in civilian clothes by now and looking for a cab, not full of energy and ready to take on another akuma. This was faster, though, so she wasn’t going to question it.

Landing on her balcony, she slipped through the roof and transformed as she landed.

Tikki’s small gasp echoed everything that Marinette was feeling as she stood in shocked silence at the sight of her girlfriend.

Chloé looked horrible. Marinette wasn’t about to say that, though. Chloé had her pride, and an argument was the last thing she looked like she needed.

Marinette knelt beside where Chloé sat on the bed. She looked distant, almost as if she wasn’t quite aware that Marinette wasn’t present.

Her girlfriend turned to her with a wan smile. Chloé’s eyes were ringed with dark circles and she was about three shades too pale for Marinette’s liking. Worst of all, she was gently swaying back and forth as if she was on the verge of collapsing.

“Chloé, sweetheart,” she said, taking Chloé’s hand in both of hers and massaging gently. Chloé’s hands were as cold as ice. “Is everything okay?”

“Hm?” Chloé asked vacantly.

“Are you feeling okay, Chloé?” she asked again, trying and failing to keep her voice calm.

Tikki flew over and felt Chloé’s forehead. “She’s freezing, Marinette. We should get her under the blankets.”

Marinette scooped Chloé’s limp body up in her arms and remarked to herself that this might be easier if she transformed, but she made do quickly getting Chloé settled under the blankets.

She slipped her own clothes off, not paying any mind that Tikki was in the room. Modesty might be a virtue, but nothing was more important to Marinette than Chloé’s wellbeing. 

Marinette wasted no time sliding in beside Chloé, who was now shivering slightly. 

Chloé seemed on the edge of being delirious as she softly said, “Hey, you’re back.”

Marinette kissed her forehead and snuggled in close. “Yeah, I’m back.”

“Little tired,” Chloé mumbled before immediately falling asleep.

Marinette might have worried about Chloé slipping off that quickly considering her condition, but her breathing was gentle and steady, and Marinette could feel her starting to warm up.

“Tikki,” she said, forcing her voice to remain even and speaking as quietly as she could. “What is this? Is it the bond?”

“I’m not sure, Marinette,” the kwami responded. “But I think it must be.”

“Is there any way you can find out?” Marinette asked, tersely. “I can’t do this if it’s going to hurt her.” She could feel her mind starting to race as panic began to set in.

“Of course, Marinette,” Tikki replied. “Of course. I’ll see if Nooroo or Wayzz know anything.”

“Please hurry,” Marinette choked back a sob. “I can’t lose her, Tikki.”

Tikki settled on the pillow beside Chloé and stroked her hair. “You won’t,” Tikki said, worry clear on her face. “I will **never** let that happen, Marinette.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said, wiping away a tear. “I can’t sleep, so I’ll wait for you.”

Tikki nodded. “I’ll hurry. I promise.”

The kwami flew out the window without another word, and Marinette waited.

She had nothing to do but hold Chloé and worry. It wasn’t as if she was tired. She felt… she felt as energized as Chloé seemed drained.

“Oh, god,” she whispered thinking of the implications. Marinette had never felt this terrified in her life. “Oh, god.”

She squeezed Chloé tight and held her for over an hour until Tikki flew back in the window.

“Marinette,” Tikki said. “Wayzz isn’t in the city, but I spoke to Nooroo.”

“Did I do this to her?” Marinette’s voice cracked as she asked and bile rose in her throat. If she had caused this… if she had done this to Chloé…

“What? No, Marinette!” the kwami exclaimed as she flew closer. She held her hand up when Marinette started to protest and said, “Marinette, I need you to tell me everything that happened during the akuma attack. Can you do that for me?”

Marinette nodded and took a deep breath. She told Tikki everything, not leaving out a single detail. As she talked, she continued to rhythmically stroke Chloé’s hair, and the kwami settled on Chloé’s shoulder patting it fondly.

Once Marinette finished, Tikki blew out a sigh, saying, “Okay. I think Nooroo’s right about what’s happening. The Bond gives a person a much deeper connection to magic than a human usually has. When it’s active—meaning when you’re transformed—a Bonded human can see the flow of magic if they concentrate and can even tap into it, although only in a rudimentary way. To protect you, there’s a psychic barrier that Nooroo created to keep you safe. You wouldn’t have time to try to focus on seeing the pathways and trying to manipulate them since you were focused on fighting the akuma. 

“It’s only a safety measure, and it takes a lot of concentration to even see the flow of magic let alone push past the barrier. Chloé had the time to focus on seeing the flow and… well, can anyone doubt she has the will to push past anything trying to stop her?”

Marinette kissed Chloé’s forehead. At least she was warm now. 

“No,” she said, tears starting to flow. “Nothing can stop her when she wants something.”

“But all she has to do is not push past the barrier next time—”

“Next time?!” Marinette’s eyes flashed and she struggled to keep her voice down. “Next time? You think—you **seriously** think there’s going to be a next time?” 

“She’s okay, Marinette. She’s going to be okay,” Tikki said calmly.

Marinette felt anything but calm.

“No,” she insisted. “This isn’t working. We need to find a new Ladybug.”

That seemed to stun Tikki. “You’re overreacting,” she said.

“I don’t care if I’m overreacting! Do you not understand that Chloé hurting herself made me stronger? Do you understand what that means? Do you get how terrifying that is to me?”

Tikki looked sad. “Marinette, I’m scared for her, too, and I’m scared for you. And you’re right. I’m not in a Bond, and I don’t know what it’s like to watch someone I love the way you and Chloé love each other put themselves in danger to help me.

“But, Chloé does. She watches you do it constantly. Every time you transform and leave to fight an akuma, she’s left behind hoping you come back. You know she’s frightened, but she knows how important this fight is, and she loves you because you’re willing to shoulder this burden. Can you honestly tell me, Marinette, that you don’t trust Chloé enough to help you fight these battles?”

Marinette wiped her eyes and tried to control her ragged breathing. She snuggled closer to Chloé like she was a lifeline. 

“She’s going to be okay,” Tikki continued. “Nooroo is inside her dream talking to her right now, and he’ll help her understand what she should and shouldn’t do next time, alright?”

The brunette’s head snapped towards the kwami and she spoke fearfully. “Nooroo? But he’s Hawk Moth’s kwami.”

“Not by choice, Marinette,” Tikki said sternly. “He can be trusted.”

Marinette considered what Tikki was saying, and she knew that Tikki was right. Chloé would see Marinette quitting as a sign Marinette didn’t trust her.

“This afternoon… what Chloé said,” she began. “She was right. I acted like I was ashamed of her. I’m not, you know? I’m just… scared. I’ve never felt this. I had feelings for Adrien. They were real feelings, too, but he was always at a distance. He was safe and this is so real. It’s like I’m alive in a way I never was before.

“And I can feel what she feels when she looks at me, Tikki. She feels… like I’m this great, amazing person who can do anything at all. I’m terrified that I’m not going to live up to this image that Chloé has of me in her head, and I can feel how she feels about herself, too. It’s… it isn’t good. She thinks there’s something wrong with her and that any minute everyone will see that and hate her.

“She thinks that people are going to judge her the way I used to judge her, and when I thought about my parents disapproving of us being intimate and how she would blame herself… I couldn’t handle that, and I screwed up and hurt her.

“But this? This is a kind of hurt that she should never have to face. If she gets hurt because she’s trying to help me? Tikki, I can’t do this without her. I’m not sure how I **ever** did it without her.”

Tikki smiled and came up to hug Marinette. “Get some sleep. Nooroo will take care of Chloé and we’ll talk to her tomorrow. I believe in the two of you.”

“Okay,” she conceded. “You’ll help me convince her to not do whatever it was she did again?”

“I promise,” Tikki said solemnly.

Marinette flicked off her lamp and almost melted into the side of her girlfriend. Tikki was right. Sleep would help, and Marinette never felt more comfortable than when she was with Chloé. 

The problem was that her mind was racing. She couldn’t let go of her fear. The only thing she was sure of was that whatever had happened tonight was because Chloé was trying to help her.

A mantra formed in her mind. Over and over the words, “If I wasn’t Ladybug, this wouldn’t have happened,” played in her head. She ran through scenarios as her sleep-deprived mind kept pulling up images of more and more dangerous akuma doing their best to kill her and Chat Noir while Chloé pushed herself to the limit and further because that’s who she was. When Chloé Bourgeois set her mind on a goal, she would destroy herself to get it.

And that was not something Marinette could reconcile. Any harm that came to Chloé because she got wrapped up in Marinette’s life could only be laid at her feet.

Eventually, she heard her parents stirring and a few minutes later, she heard their quiet voices as they chatted over breakfast. Then silence settled again as her parents went to work in the bakery.

Marinette was just as wide awake as the moment she got into bed with her girlfriend when the alarm sounded.

Chloé stirred.

Marinette wished that Chloé for once would sleep through the alarm and get the rest she now needed after last night.

“Mari?” Chloé asked softly. “Are you awake?”

“Yes,” Marinette responded. “How about we skip school today?” 

Perhaps she should have found a diplomatic way to broach the subject, but she didn’t have the mental reserves after hours of thinking only of the danger Chloé was in.

The blonde switched on the lamp and shifted so that she could face Marinette. Her face was calm and peaceful. This was how Marinette always wanted to see her.

“I know why you’re upset,” Chloé began. “I spoke to Nooroo last night. I don’t think it was just a dream.”

“No,” Tikki said from her pillow on Marinette’s desk. “It was him. I sent him to you.”

Chloé’s eyes never left Marinette’s. “He told me, Tikki,” she answered. “And he told me what could happen if I push like that again.”

Marinette felt frozen in place, captivated by Chloé’s bright, blue eyes.

“Marinette,” Chloé continued. “I won’t do that to you. Nooroo asked that I trust you—that I trust Ladybug and the Bond. I do. I always will. I won’t push except as a last resort, and I promise you I won’t make that decision lightly.”

“That’s not good enough, Chloé,” Marinette said, harshly. “I don’t want—I **can’t** do this without you. If you di—If you…”

She couldn’t say the words.

Chloé touched a finger to Marinette’s lips to signal that she understood. “I’m asking you to trust me, too.”

Marinette kissed Chloé’s finger and then pulled it away from her lips. “I do trust you, Chloé, but if… if the worst happened, it would kill me. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to live without you.”

She knew she sounded desperate, but she didn’t care. She **was** desperate.

Chloé’s eyes flashed with rage. “Don’t ever say that again,” she said. Her voice was low, but just as fierce as if she were shouting. “My maman died of cancer, Marinette. That could happen to me, too. There could be a traffic accident… anything… 

“It doesn’t matter. Papa didn’t give up, and it wasn’t just because he had me. He had all of Paris to care for, too, and that’s what you have as well. You’re Ladybug—”

“I’ll quit,” Marinette insisted. Chloé wasn’t the only one who could be angry and fierce. “We’ll find a new Ladybug.”

Tikki flew to Marinette and hugged her.

Chloé sighed angrily and said, “And what? Have a brand new Ladybug train in the middle of Hawk Moth akumatizing hardened criminals?”

Marinette didn’t have an answer for that. She closed her eyes trying to will the tears that were forming to stay in place, but she wasn’t successful. She wasn’t like Chloé. She couldn’t will herself to not cry.

She gripped Chloé tightly and cried. She wasn’t sure how long Chloé held her, but she was the only thing that kept Marinette from curling into a ball and demanding that Tikki find another Ladybug. Her tears ran out and she just lay there clinging to Chloé. Her breathing was ragged and harsh. Finally, she spoke, her voice cracking as she said, “I do trust you, Chloé, but I’ve never been this scared before.”

“I’ll try not to scare you like that again,” Chloé whispered soothingly as she stroked Marinette’s hair.

For the next few minutes, Chloé tenderly kissed Marinette and held her. 

Far more slowly than Marinette preferred, her breathing returned to normal.

“So were we going to skip?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

Chloé laughed softly. “I’ve already corrupted you, haven’t I?”

The brunette couldn’t help but laugh with her girlfriend. “I thought that was the point of what we did last night in your hotel room.”

Chloé playfully slapped Marinette’s shoulder, and both girls got up to get ready.

Marinette’s fear wasn’t completely gone, but with both Chloé and Tikki so positive about the situation, she tried to have faith that this would work out.

Just as they finished dressing, Maman called out, “Marinette, you have visitors!”

Puzzled, Marinette called back, “Um, okay! One second!”

She then heard her mother say, “They’ll be down in a minute, Alya.”

Marinette turned to Chloé and exclaimed, “Oh no. I asked Alya and Sabrina to meet us at school!” She winced at how careless she’d been to have forgotten.

“They must have decided to stop here instead,” Chloé said, looking nervous, so Marinette hugged her and held her hand as they descended the stairs.

As they left the bedroom, Marinette could already hear their friends.

At the top of the stairs to the bakery, Alya’s voice carried up to them, “Sabrina, I’m telling you, Sabine said ‘they’ll be down!’ That means it’s finally happened!”

Marinette and Chloé exchanged a puzzled look, and Sabrina echoed their confusion saying, “Are you sure? Wouldn’t Marinette have already told you if they had started dating and it had gone so far that he stayed overnight?”

He? Oh, no. Marinette felt disaster barreling towards her with the force of an avalanche.

“What is she talking about?” Chlo asked, confused. “Did Sabrina say ‘he?’”

Marinette didn’t have a chance to respond before Sabrina continued, “And why would she ask me to meet her, too? It’s not like she and I are close friends.”

“Because,” Alya replied, sounding impatient. “She’s going to need our help. Now that Adrinette is **finally** happening…” 

Chloé froze halfway down the stairs, eyes wide as fear gripped her, It was plain on her face that she understood what Alya meant by ‘Adrinette.’ That was Alya’s pet name for what she always said was Marinette’s inevitable relationship with Adrien.

Right then, Marinette was unbelievably thankful for the bond so that she could cup Chloé’s cheek and send reassurance through their connection.

That seemed to work until Alya said, “If anyone can keep that witch, Chloé, from ruining everything, it’s you!”

Instantly, everything crashed in on Marinette. All the fear and doubt rolling off Chloé in waves through the bond, edginess from lack of sleep, terror she felt over putting Chloé’s life in danger with this bond, anger she felt towards Tikki for not being completely open with her, disappointment in herself for not managing this situation and protecting Chloé better…

Maybe if she had slept last night, she would be able to tell herself that Alya had no idea of how hard Chloé had worked to earn Marinette’s love and trust. Part of her knew that and knew she should take a moment to calm both herself and Chloé, and she should keep in mind that Alya more than deserved a chance for Marinette to explain the situation.

Another part of Marinette just wanted Alya to shut her mouth before she did any more damage. That was the part in control, unfortunately, and it had her storming down the remaining stairs with a snarl on her face, leaving Chloé stunned in her wake.

“Don’t you **dare** say that about her, Alya!” Marinette snapped as she came to a stop.

The two girls were sitting at one of the bakery tables as they waited, and judging by the pure shock on Alya’s and Sabrina’s faces as Marinette reached the bottom of the steps, Chloé wasn’t the only one surprised. Two pairs of wide, round eyes met Chloé’s icy gaze as she followed Marinette, who could feel her girlfriend fighting to stay calm and confident through the bond. Sabrina had gone pale when she finally met Marinette’s eyes, resentment and pain written on her face, and Alya’s mouth had settled into a hard line.

She stood, palms flat against the table and eyes narrowed looking at Marinette as she said low and angry, “You lied to me.”

Marinette had no idea what Alya meant and started to offer her soon to be ex-friend a main course of “Get the Hell Out!” along with a nice side dish of “And Never Come Back!” when she felt a calm grip on her shoulder.

She turned to see Chloé at her most imperious. While Marinette could feel uncertainty and dread roiling inside the blonde, not a bit of it showed. Chloé marched her to the table Alya and Sabrina occupied and gently but forcibly guided her into a seat. She remained standing as did Alya, the two girls glaring at each other.

“Sabine has been very kind to me,” Chloé said calmly. “And we will not disrespect her by having a shouting match in her bakery.”

Alya seemed to consider this before begrudgingly returning to her seat. Chloé took the seat beside Marinette, letting her hand trail down from the brunette’s shoulder before gently grasping her hand. 

It occurred to Marinette this was what had drawn her to Chloé. No matter how Chloé had treated people and no matter how badly she had acted out, no one could deny that she was strong… strong in ways that Marinette felt she would never be. When Chloé displayed that strength in service to another person, Marinette found her intoxicating. So much so in fact, she was only barely able to fight down an urge to grab Chloé by the shirt and drag her up the stairs right then, everyone else be damned.

“First,” Chloé began. “How did Marinette lie to you, Alya?”

“This,” Alya said, angrily waving her finger between the two girlfriends before turning to Marinette and saying, “So this is what that whole thing was about a few weeks ago when you tried to get me to go easy on her? Just laying groundwork?”

It hadn’t occurred to Marinette that in hindsight that conversation would look like she had been trying to manipulate Alya. It was her turn to look shocked.

Chloé, seeing Marinette’s distress, answered, “We’ve only been dating since Friday.” 

Alya raised a questioning eyebrow, her gaze not leaving Marinette. “Friday? And before that?”

Tilting her head questioningly, Chloé answered slowly, “We were just friends.”

“Which means you lied to me, Marinette,” Alya countered.

“If you’re angry because she’s dating me—” Chloé began, annoyance rising in her voice, when Alya interrupted.

“Am I surprised she’s dating you? Yes. Am I happy about that? Hell no, but that isn’t my problem.” She pointed at Marinette and said, “My problem is I’m her best friend and she’s had a secret friendship with you, and now she’s apparently secretly dating you.”

Marinette spoke up. “That’s why I texted. We wanted the two of you to know.” A quick glance at Sabrina made it obvious that Sabrina, for one, would rather not know at all. “I don’t want to hide this from you, Alya.”

She reached her hand out towards Alya, and her friend started to reach as well before hesitating. 

“Then why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me? To confide in me?” The hurt was clear in her voice.

“Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me about you and Sabrina?” Marinette countered, feeling just as hurt.

Sabrina blinked, anger draining from her face. “Me? We’re not dating, Marinette.”

“But I saw the two of you the other day,” Marinette began, color rising in her cheeks. She hated saying something like this out loud, but she knew what she saw. “You were… um… in the alley…”

Realization dawned on both of their faces.

“Oh!” Alya said. “Well, yeah. I mean we fool around, but it’s casual.”

“Casual?” Marinette squeaked.

“That’s… odd,” Chloé added, not bothering to hide her disgust at the thought.

Marinette recognized the look on Alya’s face at that. It was the same kind of anger Marinette had felt on the staircase. 

Alya opened her mouth to respond, but Sabrina stopped her with a hand on her arm. The redhead shook her head, but Alya only looked confused.

“Chloé,” Sabrina said, patiently but without coming across as condescending. “I know you’re familiar with people that have those kinds of relationships.”

Alya seemed baffled, looking between Sabrina and Chloé as they spoke. It occurred to Marinette that she had only ever seen the public dynamic between the two friends, and had no idea that there was any depth to the relationship besides what was on the surface.

Marinette recognized what Sabrina was doing, though. It was a very similar type of conversation to the ones she’d had with Chloé when for whatever reason, Chloé couldn’t grasp why a person would act a certain way or think a certain way.

“Sure,” Chloé responded with a grimace. “But it’s because some asshole politician pressures a girl or because someone’s too drunk to understand or…”

She was starting to ramble, her words picking up speed, and she had started tapping out a now-familiar rhythm to Marinette with the hand not holding Marinette’s own. She wanted to calm her girlfriend’s nerves and still her hand, but if she reached across to take it, the gesture would be obvious and awkward, so she hesitated. Chloé hated attention being drawn to her habit.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to worry because Sabrina casually took Chloé’s hand in a practiced manner that made Marinette feel uneasy and jealous. When she saw the warm, caring look on Sabrina’s face, things clicked into place. She felt her heart clench as she realized just how deep Sabrina’s feelings were for Chloé, and how they weren’t just friendly feelings.

“I trust Alya,” Sabrina said.

“She isn’t pressuring you?” Chloé asked, then cut her eyes to Alya. Her glare was hard and suspicious. “How do you know she isn’t setting you up?”

Alya looked ready to slap Chloé, and part of Marinette didn’t blame her, but she had come to understand that Chloé was actually trying to process what Sabrina was saying. It just wasn’t easy for her. In Chloé’s world, everything was currency in one form or another.

Sabrina continued as if she and Chloé were the only two there. “She’s my friend, Chloé, and she’s been a good friend to Marinette, right?”

Chloé openly appraised Alya. “Maybe…” she allowed.

“She got me through years of your schemes, Chloé,” Marinette added with a playful shoulder nudge. 

Chloé looked at Marinette and her face softened. “True,” she agreed, but still was unconvinced. She turned to Alya and said, “You’re not just getting sex and skipping out on committing to Sabrina?”

Alya was understandably indignant. “Go to hell, Chloé!”

Sabrina had let go of Chloé’s hand and now put a hand on Alya’s shoulder. “Alya, it’s okay. Please?” 

Alya visibly weighed her options before curtly nodding. “Fine,” she said. “But if she accuses me of using you one more time…”

“Then I’ll be the first out the door with you,” Sabrina agreed.

“I don’t want to see you hurt, Sabrina,” Chloé said, angrily.

“Do you trust me, Chloé?” Sabrina asked. Marinette had to admire how she hadn’t lost her cool.

“You? Yes,” Chloé answered. “Her? I don’t know her well enough. Not really.”

Alya admitted, “In a way that’s kind of fair.”

“Thank you,” Chloé said, uncomfortable to be agreeing with Alya.

“How our relationship is… it’s my idea,” Sabrina offered. “I think that maybe I’ve been too focused on… my studies.” The look she was giving Chloé when she said that told Marinette everything she needed to know. The only “studies” that Sabrina was too focused on was Chloé 101, Marinette thought skeptically.

Chloé seemed oblivious, though, as Sabrina continued, “And I think maybe I just want to put myself out there and not… well, get tied down just now.”

“Yes, you don’t want to get tied down to your studies,” Marinette supplied flatly. She should leave it alone, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit possessive.

Sabrina gave her a dark look. “Yes, my studies are incredibly important to me, and they always will be but for now I want to branch out.”

“Okay whatever,” Chloé said looking suspiciously at Marinette. “We can talk about school later. I’m just happy that Sabrina’s okay.”

“I promise you I am,” Sabrina assured the blonde.

Chloé looked at Alya, puzzled. “And you’re okay with this?”

Alya shrugged. “Mostly, yeah.” When both Chloé and Marinette looked at her with curiosity, she continued, “I wouldn’t mind a relationship, but Sabrina is cool with just dating.”

Sabrina smiled, “And you’re interested in someone else anyway.”

Chloé nodded, frowning. “Marinette, obviously.”

This was a longstanding disagreement between Marinette and Chloé, and everything was already so complicated this morning that Marinette didn’t even have the energy to disagree. It wasn’t like she could convince Chloé that she was wrong anyway. She settled for groaning and rubbing her temples.

Alya looked at her. “I take it this isn’t the first time this has come up?” She quickly turned towards Chloé and said, “Oh, and no it’s not Marinette, Chloé.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said.

“Ladybug?” Chloé asked, heat tilted and eyes narrow.

“Um… no,” Alya said again, looking annoyed. “It’s not your business anyway.”

Chloé shrugged. “If you’re upset at Marinette for keeping us a secret, why is it okay for you to do the same?”

Alya’s eyes went wide and for a second she just sat there open-mouthed.

Marinette decided to give her an out. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, Alya.”

Her friend squirmed a bit in her seat. “No, Chloé has a point. It’s just that I haven’t told anyone, including you or Sabrina, who it is, and I’m not even sure I should ask her out because it’s… complicated.” She finished by hiding her head in her folded arms, face down on the table.

“I can help,” Chloé offered. 

Alya’s head popped up and all three girls said, “What?”

Chloé tapped her chin, thinking. “Well,” she said. “I’m helping Adrien with his love life already…”

This was news to Marinette. “What?” she repeated.

“And Chat Noir, too, I suppose,” Chloé continued.

“What?!” Marinette struggled to keep her voice down. What was going on?

“Oh. Um… well… we met the other day,” Chloé explained.

Alya interrupted, “Wait, wait, wait. You met Chat Noir and you’re helping him with Ladybug?”

Chloé’s eyes went wide.

“Yes, Chloé,” Marinette asked, voice thick with sarcasm. “Are you helping Chat win Ladybug’s heart?” She was more than curious as to just when her girlfriend had met up with her partner in superheroics and precisely why Chloé hadn’t thought it worth mentioning until now.

“It’s private,” Chloé covered. “I won’t reveal any private details for the people I’m helping. You can rest assured, Alya, the same applies to you.”

“So…” Alya said, and Marinette could tell her friend was stalling because this conversation had taken a turn for the weird. “I’m going to regret asking this, but how would you help me?”

Chloé smiled. “I’ve always liked how you get down to business.” She paused in thought before saying, “I think a straightforward approach is best. Tell me her name and I’ll explain to her why you’re a catch. I’m sure she’ll see reason one way or another.”

“Oh?” Marinette asked, amused at how uncomfortable Alya looked with Chloé describing her as a catch.

Her girlfriend nodded. “Yes, Alya’s smart and has a great sense of humor. I might even describe her humor as a bit wicked.” She turned to Alya and continued. “Your eyes are drop-dead gorgeous, too, and you have a great body. Curvy in the right places. I could go on, but I think you get the point.”

Alya looked completely embarrassed, and Marinette couldn’t decide if she should be jealous over the very upfront assessment or relieved that someone else was the one turning crimson for once.

Alya cleared her throat and assumed a confident pose. “Okay, so you’re considering a career as a matchmaker, Chloé?”

“No,” Chloé responded, smirking. “Just a hobby. I’m still planning on architecture if Papa will allow it.”

That surprised Alya. “Architecture?”

Chloé nodded, and Sabrina and Marinette both insisted that Chloé was very talented with her designs. Marinette and Chloé had talked about life ambitions, and she really hoped her girlfriend would pursue architecture even if Mayor Bourgeois thought she might not be happy in an office job.

It was a relief to Marinette to discuss normal, everyday matters like plans for life after school. Too much of her life lately had been consumed by the stress brought about by her Ladybug identity.

“We should probably get to school,” Sabrina offered. She stood and hesitated. “Marinette,” she said tentatively. “Would you mind getting lunch with me today? I’d like a chance to talk.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea, Sabrina!” Chloé said, her face lighting up. She turned to Alya and asked, “Would you like to have lunch with me? We can talk about your crush.”

“Yes to lunch,” Alya stated. “No to matchmaking.”

“I can just listen,” Chloé offered, looking hopeful. Marinette thought it was a great sign that Chloé was dropping her mask with Alya even if it was likely only for Marinette’s sake. 

Alya gave her an appraising look. “Maybe,” she said.

Marinette turned to Sabrina, “Sure, lunch will be nice.”

She wasn’t sure that was accurate. Spending bonding time with someone who obviously still carried a torch for her girlfriend was low on the priorities list for Marinette, and Sabrina, despite making the offer, didn’t seem very eager either.

“Okay,” Sabrina said as they gathered their things. “It’ll be… fun.”

Yes. Fun, Marinette thought. Sure. So much fun.

“Alya,” she said as they went out the door. “I really am sorry.”

Alya pulled her into an embrace. “Just don’t do it again, okay? I need you to trust me the way I trust you.”

Marinette laughed and said, “I promise.”

When they arrived at school, Adrien was waiting on them. He had a sheepish look on his face that Marinette could tell worried Chloé. It worried her a little, too.

Tightening her grip on Chloé’s hand, Marinette walked with her towards the boy she used to crush on so badly that she could barely speak in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” Chloé asked, not bothering to pretend she couldn’t tell her friend had bad news.

Adrien frowned and held up his tablet. On it was a picture of Marinette and Chloé kissing in front of the hotel two nights ago. It looked like it had been posted on the city’s most popular gossip blog.

“So much for slowly easing people into the idea of us, Mari,” Chloé said and blew out a breath. “Wonderful.”

Alya hummed. “Want some advice?”

Chloé raised an eyebrow at the blogger and said, “Don’t try to hide our relationship. Act like it’s no big deal. Not too much PDA but don’t look like we’re ashamed. If anyone asks, yes we’re dating, but we’re not sure why the press cares.”

Alya looked impressed and nodded. “I would also take Marinette to some high profile event as soon as possible before they start with the stories about you ‘slumming’ because they don’t have any other angle.”

It was Chloé’s turn to look impressed. “Good idea.”

Marinette’s shoulders sagged. “Can’t we just enjoy dating in peace?”

Both Chloé and Alya said, “No.”

Sabrina said, “They’ll get bored in a few days and move on. Probably.”

“They will,” Adrien said. “Oh and congratulations to both of you!” he added with a grin.

Even now, his smile made Marinette’s stomach feel fluttery. With some chagrin, Marinette saw Chloé staring at her and realized that fluttery feeling wasn’t only something Marinette could feel. She would make it up to her girlfriend later.

“Thank you, Adrien!” Chloé said and hugged her friend.

“I hear you’re about to get some help with your love life from Chloé,” Alya smirked.

Adrien groaned and buried his face in his hand.

Chloé took the opportunity to pinch his cheeks. “Don’t worry, Adri-kins!” she said, brightly. “I’ll have her wrapped around your finger soon!”

All of them laughed as Chloé took the opportunity to try to get Adrien to reveal who he had a crush on, but he resisted every effort.

Soon, it was time for class. The new couple acted just as Chloé and Alya had discussed and it went well. Honestly, the hardest part of the day was the most awkward lunch of Marinette’s life. She wanted to be on good terms with Sabrina, but it wasn’t going to be easy. The redhead wasn’t exactly hostile, but she was definitely uncomfortable with the idea of Marinette dating Chloé.

The only sort of hiccup was Lila and Chloé sniping at each other a bit during study hall, when Lila openly questioned whether the blonde deserved Marinette, but then again, those two always sniped at each other. Everyone else either seemed to be happy for Marinette, or simply too surprised to know how to react. Marinette might have hoped that the news would make their classmates more eager to make friends with Chloé, and that clearly wasn’t happening yet, but Chloé didn’t care. She said she didn’t really mind some distance from most people, and Marinette couldn’t argue with that.

This was how things went for the first part of the week, with only a few events marking how much the status quo had changed for all of them. 

On Tuesday, Chloé took Alya’s advice and brought Marinette to a gallery showing that was the talk of Parisian high society. Marinette had to admit she was starting to enjoy parts of that kind of life. At least she enjoyed the art and the complimentary glasses of wine… and okay yes the clothes and shoes were amazing.

If anything, Marinette’s out-of-control libido was more of a worry to her than the paparazzi. Going more than an hour without pulling off her girlfriend’s clothes seemed like a Herculean task. They ended up making out quite often day and night. In the evenings, they had privacy. During the day, they did their best not to get caught in too compromising a position.

They did have sex at school—five times in three days—which simultaneously terrified and thrilled Marinette. She felt awful that she was disrespecting the school, but the visceral charge she got out from the risk blew out any rational thought she might have had.

She worried that maybe she had a problem. Of course, she reasoned, there were worse problems to have than being far too turned on by her amazing girlfriend, who wanted her just as much as she wanted Chloé.

Also, Chloé going down on her in the girls’ shower was just as mind-blowingly awesome as she had dreamed, so she really didn’t want to give that up even if she wouldn’t ever admit that out loud if the fate of the world depended on it.

On the Ladybug front, there weren’t any akuma attacks until Wednesday morning. The main talking point of the morning before the attack had been Adrien’s unexplained absence from class. Chloé was pouting because she was convinced that any moment, Adrien would cave and let her help him romance his mystery girl. Marinette had her doubts about that, which she wisely kept to herself.

Even the akuma attack wasn’t too serious. It was a young mother who felt pressured by her mother-in-law to give up her career and have a second child. She and Chat were relieved it wasn’t some crazed murderer and joked with each other as they fought. Afterward, Marinette gave the woman a hug and Chat talked to her about always being true to herself.

The best part was that while the bond was still giving Marinette additional strength and speed, it didn’t act like it had a few nights ago. When she returned to school, Chloé looked a little tired, but Tikki once again assured them both that was what happened every time until the connection matured.

Marinette should have known it was all too good to last.

As they broke for lunch that Wednesday, most students gathered as usual in the courtyard. The days were colder, but it was clear and bright this morning and no one wanted to stay inside. She and Chloé were arm-in-arm and chatting casually with several other students when out of nowhere, Marinette was body-checked, flying several feet and landing on her back as some girl shouted “Lo-Lo!” 

She had a moment of deja vu from the days when Chloé had routinely shouldered her to the ground any time she tried to get close to Adrien. 

Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she was greeted with the sight of a slight, blonde girl trying to attach herself to Chloé like a second skin. Anger flared inside her as she looked at whoever this blonde bimbo was who had glommed onto her girlfriend seemingly with no intention of ever letting go.

At least Chloé had the decency to look startled and uncomfortable. “Lee-Lee?” she asked, her voice shaky and uncertain.

That was when Marinette realized that she couldn’t feel whatever it was Chloé felt while being assaulted by this crazy person. Tikki’s comments about adrenaline came back to her, and Marinette had to admit she was definitely ready to fight if this “Lee-Lee” witch didn’t let go of her girlfriend immediately, so the adrenaline thing was accurate. She hadn’t anticipated how cold and lonely she would feel with that presence in her mind suddenly gone.

Alya was helping her to her feet when Adrien ran up to the two interlocked blondes. Marinette wondered when he had gotten here.

“You have to be more careful, Angelique,” he said, crossly. “You could have hurt Marinette.”

The new girl unwrapped herself from Chloé with lightning speed, threw her arms around Adrien, and snuggled into his chest. Adrien went stiff and looked ready to bolt at the first opportunity.

“If you’re jealous, Adri-kins,” she said. “Just say so! You don’t have to share me if you don’t want!”

Wait, thought Marinette, did he just call her…

“Lee-Lee?” Chloé repeated timidly, holding a wavering hand up as if she wanted to reach out to this girl but was doubting whether she should. 

Marinette felt a strange anger build in her at the sight of Chloé hesitant and afraid.

The strange blonde released Adrien and took Chloé’s hands, smiling. She was petite and delicate, but moved with such casual grace that Marinette found her unnerving. Her wide smile was bright, but if asked, Marinette could not have said if she was smiling to reassure Chloé or smiling to mock Chloé. There was something in her eyes that just seemed… calculating to Marinette.

“I’m back home, Lo-Lo!” she giggled. “All three of us together just like we were always meant to be!”

She looked around at the rest of the curious students and stage-whispered loud enough for half the city to hear, “And Adri-kins tells me some other girl has stolen my Lo-Lo’s heart!” She hugged Chloé again before exclaiming, “I can’t wait to meet her! **Someone** needs to make sure she’s good enough for you after all!”

Chloé touched the girl’s white-blonde hair as if she was trying to confirm whether this was some sort of dream or if it was real as she whispered one word:

“Angelique…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this being a week late. A combination of illness and multiple crises at work did their best to undo me totally. I can't promise next week's chapter won't be delayed one week, and when I say you have my sincere apologies, I mean it without reservation. I'm very sorry.
> 
> On to the story...
> 
> So, I'm _that author_ now. I've introduced an original character. Before I'm tarred and feathered, I can only offer in my defense that I kind of miss having a dedicated Mean Girl in the story since a certain blonde got all complicated on us. ;)
> 
> And I've finally written an action scene. I think it's good. I'm interested in everyone's thoughts!
> 
> I've been feeling so bad that I'm still not sure if this chapter is coherent, let alone decent. Any credit for any good part is due to asimaiyat, who has went above and beyond as a beta reader this chapter.
> 
> Um... I should probably say something witty or deep about this chapter, but I am still a bit woozy so hopefully the writing speaks for itself. I hope you enjoy the update!


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